Secrecy
by Kleia
Summary: "I promise you won't feel a thing." Rated T for safety. —ZaziexOC
1. Gray Meets Bronze

**Secrecy**

**Chapter One – Grey Meets Bronze**

**WARNING: May contain curses. This fanfiction is a ZaziexOC pairing.**

**DISCLAIMER: **_Fianan Gleoite does not own Letter Bee—only her OCs. Thank you!_

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She panted, looking behind her—eyes filled with willpower. Shortly observing the metallic bug behind her, she looked back ahead of her and fastened her pace. Spotting a nearby rock, which was essential for her to hide in, she ran towards it and sat down, catching her breath. Her heart was beating fast as she had been running for several minutes. She felt hot and sweat trickled down her head.

She relaxed her shoulders as a white fox sat beside her, its tail wagging elegantly. She sighed through her nose, eyes closed as she formulated a plan in her mind. _Though they said that this is part of the exam... _she thought, _I think I have a low chance of actually defeating this thing. _She sighed once again as that fact crossed her mind. Grabbing the bow from her back, she blinked to find the Spirit Amber glowing at the belly part of her bow. She stared at the weapon as though examining a piece of specimen. _Maybe... _she wondered. Her eyes traveled from the bow, to the fox, to the metallic bug which seemed as if it was waiting for her. Then, she felt something spark in her.

The blonde, now on the fox's back, still held her bow in her hand, eyes burning with determination as they were focused on the gaichuu. Still facing ahead, she fished out an arrow from her quiver, holding the arrow nock with the nocking point of the bow, the head of the arrow planted a few inches above her hand, which held the grip. She narrowed her eyes, slowly nearing the metallic bug. She whistled, giving her fox a signal. The fox complied and wrapped its tail around her tiny waist, stretching her upwards.

Once airborne, another tail appeared and pointed at the bug's weak point. She bobbed her head down to acknowledge the fox's help, and stretched her bow's string, creating a light creak from it. The fox from below did its job and kept distracting it, thus making her easier to aim and shoot. She waited for the right time before shouting: "Kiiro-tō!" (_Translation: "Yellow light!") _as she let go of the arrow.

A yellow light slowly glowed at the head of the arrow, leaving traces of the light and white star-shaped snowflake-like particles as it made its way inside the gap of the metallic bug. A very bright light similar to that of the artificial sun's glowed inside the gaichuu, a signal that meant it was about to burst into thirty pieces.

Shiro, her fox, knowing that it was about to explode, instantly reverted its tail to its original length, and gently placed the blonde's feet on the ground. The two immediately sprinted away from the metallic bug as it burst into thirty pieces. The impact of the explosion caused the blonde's hair to fly forwards, her curls blocking her field of vision. _Luckily, we were quite far away, _she thought in relief, her running cadence slightly slowing down as she panted. She placed her hands on her knees (one hand still holding the bow) and breathed evenly before standing up straight once again.

She took a glance at her fox and crouched down, a small smile on her face as she stroked its head, causing the fox to tilt its head upwards in delight. "You're such a good girl, Shiro." She said.

Shiro suddenly flinched, her ears snapping upwards then twisting slightly as if finding the owner of the silent sound. The blonde blinked and stood up, turning around and suddenly her guard went up. Her eyes scanned the area. She stepped closer beside the fox. "Where...?" she wondered to herself, eyes narrowing as she and her dingo searched the area.

The sound of footsteps echoed in her ear and was gradually becoming louder and louder. She snapped her head at the owner of the sound and found a raven-haired boy approaching her with a smirk on his face, his hands tucked in his Letter Bee uniform (or so she read about). _A Letter Bee... _she thought, tilting her head to her side. _Is he applying too...? No, it can't be. He already has his own uniform...! _She unconsciously planted her index finger on her chin as she thought deeply on he the boy might be, her eyes glued on the rocky ground.

"Emi Hunter," he called in a cool yet slightly harsh voice, his tone filled with authority. The blonde blinked and snapped her head towards him, blinking once again at the raven panther that sat beside him, her electric-blue eyes stunning her.

But she paid more attention on how he knew her name. "How did you know my name?" she asked bluntly, impassively.

The boy's smirk broadened. "As part of being an observer," he began, cocking his head in pride, "we check the applicant's files and observe them and how well they do in the exam." he explained. Emi simply nodded at his explanation, suddenly feeling sleepy and tired. "And you sure did good at killing that gaichuu. But not in handling the letter."

Suddenly, Emi's face lit up in curiosity. "What do you mean? I'm sure I have my letter with me."

He mock chuckled, fishing out the envelope from his uniform pocket and presented it to her. "You mean _this _letter?"

Emi's eyes dilated, and she swore she felt a pang in her chest and a new feeling rushing through her veins. _Why do I...? _She asked herself, her eyes now staring at the ground, as if the dirt were eyeing her too. She heard the boy smirk in front of her.

"It apparently flew out of your bag while you were airborne," he stated, his aura suddenly dropping. ("It hit my face, too... I didn't know your fox could do that... I think its cool... but I don't wanna say that right now..." he mumbled.) "Best if you should've zipped it close." He advised, once again tilting his head upwards. "Anyway, here you go." He stretch out his hand towards Emi, who merely eyed it before taking a few steps forward, now an arm's length away from him. "You were lucky I was there observing you, otherwise you'll fail this exam."

She looked at him straight in the eye blankly that she knew he was feeling nervous, for he suddenly backed away a step. "... Thank you." She simply said, gently getting the letter from the shocked boy. ("That was really blunt..." he muttered.)

He then huffed (after saving face) and lowered his cap before facing her once again, eyebrows furrowed in irritation. "Yeah whatever. I'll be going now. Bye." He said, and without a minute to waste, he turned around and walked the opposite direction of where she was headed, a frown on his face. The black panther followed suit, leaving a baffled Emi behind.

Once the boy was out of earshot, Emi turned her head to Shiro, who was eyeing the two, then to the ground. _What I felt just now... I rarely feel it, _she thought, lifting her head to where the boy walked off, and found herself staring into thin air. _I should just finish this off._

**_..._**

"Thank you for delivering my letter safely, dear," a middle-aged woman cheerfully thanked, her soft brown eyes on Emi's impassive ones. She earned a nod as a response. A moment of silence passes by and the woman smiled once again. "You'd be prettier if you smile, dear." She suggested, but Emi could only avert her gaze and slightly frown.

She opened her mouth. "I—"

"Good day, miss!" a familiar voice boomed from behind, causing Emi to slightly jump in shock. He now stood beside her, a hand raised in greeting as the other was in his pocket, a cool smile on his face. "Has she delivered the letter and is in good condition?"

The woman smiled warmly and nodded, presenting him the letter which she had just received from Emi. "Yes, she has."

The boy nodded and fished a piece of paper out of his bag. He took out a ballpen and handed them to the woman after attatching the paper to a small clipboard. "Now, if you don't mind signing this, it would be of great help." He said in a suave voice as the woman happily accepted his offer and removed the ballpen's cap, signing the piece of paper.

As she handed the paper and pen to the boy, she threw a glance at the silent Emi and softly smiled. "She's applying, huh?" She asked, voice showing interest and warmth. Emi's gray eyes instantly travelled from the cold ground to the woman's soft eyes, blinking in curiosity.

The brown-haired boy glanced at Emi before looking back at the woman. "Uh, yeah—yeah she's applying..." He stammered, his hands stiff as he took the clipboard and pen from the woman after an eternity, absent-mindedly glancing at Emi once again. The trio were enveloped in an awkward silence before the brown-haired boy decided to clear his throat to break the ice. "So, um, thank you again, miss. We're going now."

The woman, in a trance, suddenly perked up and lifted a hand to bid goodbye to the two. "A-ah yes...! Have a safe trip, you two!" She said as the two nodded and turned their backs against the woman, preparing to leave.

Just as the brown-haired boy was about to take another step on the cold cobblestone ground, the woman stopped him, gently putting a hand on his shoulder. He blinked and turned around, noticing how the woman smiled. "Uh... what's the matter, miss?" He courteously asked, head slightly tilted upwards to look into her warm eyes.

"May I know your name, dear?" She asked, taking a small step forward, their distance slightly closing.

The Bee instinctively took a step back cautiously, his bronze eyes avoiding hers as he suddenly felt his cheeks become warmer. "Zazie..."

She smiled. "Well, Zazie, let me tell you something."

The woman then leaned in, her lips merely half an inch from his ear. She cupped her hand over the side of her mouth, her lips forming a small smile. "Take care of her, okay?" She whispered tenderly, patting his head before standing up straight once again, her hands now elegantly clasped together below her abdomen. She giggled as Zazie blinked multiple times in disbelief, taking a stiff step back.

He then folded his arms across his chest and huffed after saving face. He was about to counter harshly when the woman said: "She seems... sweet and caring," she folded her arms as well, leaning on the doorway. She shrugged. "I don't know... there's something about her that you should find out for yourself, Zazie. It's a chance." She smiled, eyeing him in a motherly way, which caught him off-guard.

Zazie huffed once again and shoved his hands into his pocket, his eyebrows suddenly twitching as his eyes darted around, only missing the woman in front of him. "Well I—"

"Regardless," she interrupted, "you should take your leave now as I don't see that girl anymore." She comically said, looking over to where Emi vanished minutes ago. "You should be guiding her, yes? After all..." Her voice faded as she started giggling (but to Zazie, it was more like teasing.)

"You're a lot like someone I know from where I live..." He mumbled exasperatedly, lowering his cap as he heaved a heavy sigh. He turned around, his hands in his pockets and his dingo tailing after him. He raised a hand to say a silent goodbye to the woman whose name is unknown to him, but his known to her. He frowned.

"Take that chance, dear!" She shouted after him, and earned a mere grunt from Zazie. She giggled at his immaturity. Watching the retreating back of Zazie, she smiled to herself. "You won't regret it." She muttered softly as she closed the door behind her.

**/x/**

"Emi Hunter, and Letter Bee Zazie Winters, please proceed to the Head Master's office. Scramble dash! Thank you." A strict feminine voice boomed throughout the halls minutes after Emi and Zazie arrived. Albeit it was required for him to report his job as an Observer, Zazie couldn't help but sigh wearily and walk slowly to his destination, shoulders slumped forward in prostration.

Emi, meanwhile, tailed behind Zazie as if she were his pet, her gray and impassive eyes darting around the halls of the Bee Hive, inwardly amazed. She then faced ahead of her, now eyeing Zazie and his depressed form. He suddenly turned his head and threw her a sideway-long glance, in which she returned with a blink. She heard him sigh and mumble things to himself as he turned to face ahead.

In silence and safe distance, they both climbed up the stairs and walked towards the said office. Zazie finally turned to her, a stern look on his face, and his signature frown in place as he held the door knob. He opened his mouth to speak but the words refused to come out, so he decided to open the door as he closed his mouth. He walked in, aura filled with authority—although the people inside have higher positions than him.—and Emi followed suit, taking careful steps inside.

She glanced at the two persons in front of her as she ceased walking and was now beside Zazie. A blonde woman stood by the desk, her hand planted atop of it. Behind the desk was a blue-gray-haired man, his eyes shielded by a pair of glasses and his mouth held a pipe, he smiled warmly at them.

The man removed the pipe from his lips and held it between his two fingers, the smoke rising then vanishing into thin air, the two gases combining. He breathed out a puff of white smoke, "Letter Bee Zazie," he said with interest. Zazie stood up straight, his face impassive. "Congratulations on successfully observing the exam yet again. There were no forgers, or cheaters of any kind this year, yes?" He formally asked, now sitting down on his swivel chair, clasping his hands together on the table.

"There were none, Head Master." Zazie answered, clutching his cap over his diaphragm with his two hands—a sign of respect—showing his dark windswept hair. "But someone almost lost their letter," he informed, emphasizing the 'someone' as he glanced at Emi. "Fortunately, I found it."

The man smiled and chuckled. "And whose letter might that be?" He inquired.

"Emi Hunter's." Zazie reported, turning his head to look at Emi, who seemed to still be calm and collected.

The man now turned to Emi and smiled wider. "My, my, Miss Hunter. It was indeed lucky that Letter Bee Zazie here was able to find your letter. Otherwise, you would've failed this exam." He said, momentarily putting the pipe in his mouth. Emi stood still, her breathing relaxed. He removed it and once again puffed out white smoke. "Miss Hunter, let me tell you the importance of letters..."

"Thank you, Letter Bee Zazie. You are dismissed." The blonde woman sternly said, tilting her head down to bow.

Zazie nodded and turned around after bowing, walking towards the door. Just as he was about open the door, the man called after him. He turned his head to him. "Thank you again for successfully observing for this year, Letter Bee Zazie!" He gratefully said.

Zazie blinked and slowly turned his head to the door, opening it just as slowly. "Yeah, it's... no problem." He quietly said before exiting the room, the door creating a soft click when he shut it closed.

A short and calming silence lingered around the room, as if something heavy was lifted. The man cleared his throat. "Miss Hunter, letters contain peoples' "hearts," and "hearts" contain feelings... emotions. They could bring joy to the receiver, or maybe sadness. We aren't sure about that,"—a short pause as he closed his eyes—"and it is our job as Bees to risk our lives to deliver those letters containing "hearts," no matter the reasons or causes." He looked at Emi. "It is our job to touch the hearts of people through delivering letters. It is what a Bee does." He paused once again. "And you are one of the Bees now, Miss Hunter. Congratulations."

Emi nodded and bowed with a hint of elegance at the news. "Thank you," she said, her lips slightly ajar.

The man nodded. "Oh yes," he said in realization, "I am Largo Lloyd, the Head of the Hive." He introduced. Largo then gestured his hand toward the blonde woman by the desk. "She's Aria Link, the Sub-Master." He blinked warmly as he striked the gendo pose. "It is nice to meet you, Miss Hunter. And I am eager to see your skills as a Bee." He said in pleasure as his onyx eyes stared at Emi, who stayed silent. He chuckled. "Well, it seems that Miss Hunter is a silent person," he pointed out. Emi could only nod.

Largo glanced at Aria and nodded. "Miss Aria?" He called out.

Aria nodded at his call and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She abruptly and featly walked towards a small cabinet and fished out a new Bee uniform, holding it with her two arms like it was a box filled with glass. She turned to Emi, who was eyeing her with her curious gray pair. "Come with me, Letter Bee Emi. You'll be wearing your uniform immediately. Some rules have changed..." She said, in which she muttered the last sentence with a small sigh.

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**A/N: **So yeah, I know Letter Bee is old now and no one would even read this considering how unpopular it has gotten, but the story plot of this just kept bugging me like hell. Seriously. So I also thought that throwing this story away would be a _huge _waste of my time and somehow, when I imagined it happening to another anime besides this… well, it will practically be suckish. So I concluded my thoughts that this will officially be a Letter Bee fic.

Yay.

(-_-)9

And since I could express this to practically _no one_—not even my friends _or _my family because none of them knows this **_amazing-est _**anime ever, I decided to put it up here. Besides, **I write to express, not to impress. **Welp, I just hope that you'll take your time to read this because **this baby has a sequel coming! **Yeah!

Anyway, thank you for everything. Bye!

**EDIT: **Just realized that Emi was a **Mary Sue**. *rips out said OC's whole being* *throws body into a dumpster, sets it on fire, and casually walks away* So I decided to edit a few Mary Sue-ish parts here. It didn't make a lot of changes, just minor changes. :)

**EDIT 2 (8/9/2014): **So I edited this again and made Emi quieter and more solitary so as to follow her personality because I noticed that in this chapter, she is quite noisy and transparent when she really shouldn't be.

**EDIT 3 (9/20/2014):** Probably and hopefully, this will be the last edit that I will do for this chapter. Really took a while because writer's block happened to find me as well as the increasing school work and activities. Even the music club I'm in suddenly got busier. So I hope you'll understand my absence lol. Sooooo, I based Emi's attitude from my classmate tho. XD I hope she is now really solitary and quite unflapabble. Zazie here is a bit shy(?) too because of the woman but he'll be the same.

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_Please read my other fics: **Disconnected**, **Out of My League**, **A Wait Longer Than Eternity** and **But You're Not Here Anymore**! Thank you!_


	2. Sylvette

**Secrecy**

**WARNING: **This _might be _lame… and like before, it's a **ZaziexOC pairing.**

**DISCLAIMER: **_Kleia__ does not own Letter Bee—only her OCs._

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**CHAPTER TWO – Sylvette**

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Emi went out of the room, clad in the complete Bee uniform. (Apparently, Aria had left her due to the stacks of paperwork she has to do.) It has many similarities between the boys' uniform, but the only difference was the pants—the girls' pants are much skinnier and they wrap around the thighs and legs perfectly, unlike the boys' pants, which are rather loose. She looked at the black boots, which were right below her knees. She blinked at it in amusement and found it rather comfortable and chic. She shifted her feet and took small steps in attempt to 'try out' the boots.

"Hey!" A sprightly and unfamiliar voice called out from a distance. Not wanting to be viewed as someone snobbish—as she couldn't stand people's judgment, yet she decides to abide by it—she snapped her head to the direction of the voice and found a white-haired boy happily waving towards her, a chubby boy carrying a dog following suit as well as a little girl with long blonde hair. "Hi! You must be—be Emi!" he panted as he came to a halt. Emi, who badly wanted to be left alone, decided to wait for the boy to regain composure.

He stood up straight, grinning widely. "I'm Lag Seeing! And she," he pointed towards the girl, "is my dingo, Niche. Oh, and he's Connor Kluff, and that's his dingo, Gus!" He said for Connor, who was still panting from the run, and pointed at him and his dingo respectively. He smiled and held out his hand for her to shake. "It's nice to meet you! I hope you'll enjoy working with us!"

Emi only blinked at the outstretched hand in impassiveness and slight curiosity. She then looked into Lag's magenta eyes. "Thank you." She said with a nod of acknowledgement and slightly bowed, taking a small step forward in an attempt to leave the two boys. "But I have to go home. Nice to meet you." She brusquely said, turning her back to the boys, slightly in relief. She started walking towards the staircase—

"Wait!" Lag stubbornly interrupted. Emi stopped in her tracks and turned around. "Do—do you have a place to live in? Considering you're new here…" he trailed off, suddenly feeling apprehensive as he avoided her eyes. "I—I also… introduce you to someone," he said, suddenly perking up and smiling at her. "She's the same age as us! She's a great person…"

"Yeah, you could be friends." Connor agreed, nodding.

Emi once again blinked and eyed the two boys slowly. She was doubting. She didn't want to end up homeless yet she also didn't want to be attached to anyone. Mustering up some courage, she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them once again. "Okay."

**…**

"I'm home!" Lag exclaimed as he opened the door, Niche bouncing her way in. He removed his hat and blazer, hanging it on the coat rack beside the door. ("Welcome back, Lag!" a high-pitched and melodious voice called out from a room.) He turned to Emi with a rather nervous smile, seeing her looking at him aloofly with her hands folded across her chest. He found himself chuckling fretfully as he turned his head back ahead, searching for Sylvette as he strolled toward the kitchen. He once again turned to Emi, who hasn't moved a muscle. "Follow me, Emi." He politely said, a hint of apprehension in his voice.

"Lag, did you bring someone home? I heard a different name." She said, the scent of something appetizing evaporating in the air and filling their noses. As Emi had observed, Lag had an unpleasant look on his face as he sniffed the ether, which made her curious about the scent.

A silver-haired girl, who Emi guessed was Sylvette, emerged from what seemed to be the dining room. Once she caught sight of Emi, she immediately beamed and ran up towards her, taking Emi's hands in hers. Her bright azure eyes glittered and caught Emi aback, albeit the slight hint of shock in her lineaments. "Why, hello! Are you a friend of Lag's?" she immediately inquired.

"You could say, yes. She's Emi, by the way," Lag answered for her, chuckling somewhat nervously. "I saw her by the corridors so I—"

"Ah, you're a new Bee?" Sylvette then asked, eyes glancing from her to Lag. Emi nodded as a response, still not able to recover from the sudden contact.

"Ah…! Sylvette, she needs a place to move in so do you mind—"

"Why, of course! Why didn't you say so earlier, Lag?" Sylvette excitedly exclaimed, earning an animated frown from Lag, from Emi's peripheral view.

Sylvette then tugged on Emi's hand and led her to the dining room. "Before anything else, shall we have dinner?" She asked with a smile, causing Emi to nod as her feet moved in its own accord to the dining room. She observed how the atmosphere changed, but she decided to brush it off. "I made my original soup! You should give it a try, Emi."

As Emi was about to nod, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Lag with a comical look of disgust on his face, shaking his head no as he brought a finger to his neck and slicing it with an imaginary knife. Niche, meanwhile, threw her a look of disgust, her small nose wrinkled and her eyes focused on Emi. She then blinked at the silly actions of the partners, slightly nodding at their signals.

"Oh, Lag, how was your delivery?" Sylvette then asked, turning her head to him—who immediately returned to his normally innocent and cheery face, but a hint of nervousness was seen—and beaming just as Emi turned her head straight ahead. They finally went in the kitchen, with Lag happily saying: "A-ah it was—it was great, Sylvette!"

By the time they all sat down on their chairs, Sylvette then served them her typical soup. "Dig in." She happily said as she sat down on her seat, instantly bringing the wooden spoon to her lips, enjoying the taste. "Delicious as always!" She complimented, taking in another sip of the warm soup.

That was what Emi saw, but as she turned her attention to Lag and Niche, she began to debate on who to believe. She gazed at the warm soup in front of her, seeing her reflection on it. Finally realizing that what she was doing is quite rude, she slowly spooned the soup. Bringing it to her mouth, she first tasted the warmth of the liquid. Then the flavors which didn't blend well with each other. Then the bad aftertaste which didn't quite need a detailed explanation. She couldn't bring herself to swallow it and leave the horrible taste on her taste buds. But she did the opposite. She swallowed and kept herself from making face.

Once she did, it appears that she had caught their attention. Sylvette was the first to break the ice, with Lag staring at her with an expression that seemed to be praising her. "So," Sylvette then began. Emi snapped her at her. "How is it?" She asked, a smile on her face.

Wanting to badly tell the truth and let her know, while not wanting to hurt her feelings, she decided to go for an answer that was somewhere in between—at least for her: "It's okay," she said, avoiding their eyes and taking in another sip, as if examining it more. "… What do you put here?" She questioned, merely glancing at Sylvette then Lag, who seemed to be looking at her with a 'that's-a-great-move-Emi-keep-it-up' kind of look.

Sylvette, who seemed shock at the question, blinked and placed her index finger on her chin. "Let me think about it," she said. After a few seconds of pondering, she perked up. "Now that I think about it, I don't put it much ingredients. Only vegetables and a little bit of salt sometimes."

Emi nodded, deciding it'd be best if she finishes it right away. After which, they had cleaned up and the two of them are left. Seeing Sylvette doing the dishes, she approached her. "Let me do it…" she offered.

"Ah…! No, it's okay, Emi!" Sylvette perkily said, beaming at her. "You should change clothes…! The exam must be tiring, right? Go change! Surely, you brought clothes to change, right?"

Realizing what Sylvette had said, Emi slowly shook her head. _I forgot about clothes… _she thought in realization. "I forgot." She admitted, somewhat looking pensive. Hearing Sylvette giggle, she blinked.

"Emi…!" Sylvette began, covering her mouth as she continued giggling. "How could you forget about clothes?"

* * *

Now clad in a powder blue nightgown Sylvette provided, Emi then walked towards Sylvette, who seemed to be eyeing her in admiration as she sat at the edge of the bed. The nightgown fitted her well, it was loose, light, and comfortable. Small flowers decorated the hem by her neck, and surprisingly, it didn't itch unlike other fabrics. The nightgown ended several inches above her ankle.

"Wah, it fits you well!" Sylvette exclaimed as Emi took a seat on the bed beside her. In no time, she started to play with Emi's golden locks, twirling it around her finger. "I really like your hair. It's very beautiful, Emi." She said softly.

"Thank you," was Emi's blunt reply. Only then did she realize that Sylvette was braiding her hair.

Silence hung in the ether for a moment before Sylvette started to talk again: "Do you want to talk about anything?" She asked, her voice coming out to be a bit teasingly. "About… _boys_?" As Sylvette asked this, Zazie instantly popped into her mind. But Emi decided to brush it off and shake her head no. "Well that's a first," Sylvette said somewhat in a shock. "Girls always react when it comes to boys. Are you sure you don't have someone who catches your eye?"

She shook her head. "They don't interest me so much." She straightforwardly said. She herself was shocked that her words came out of her mouth so slickly. Usually, she knows she would remain silent and let her thoughts evade.

"Oh. Well that's shocking." Sylvette apprehensively said, her chuckle just as well as she placed the bundle of Emi's hair on her right shoulder. She stood up and Emi turned her head to face her. By observation, a hint of sadness was seen on her lineaments. "Anyway," Emi blinked, "good night, Emi. It was nice that we could talk even for a little while." Sylvette beamed one last time before heading for the door. She opened it, and left the room, the sound of the door closing shut resounded in both their ears.

And once again, Emi was left to the comfort of being alone.

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**A/N: **Sorry for the lame chapter—I really didn't know what to write. _Emi's look will be posted on my DeviantART account—I'll tell you when I posted it already. _:) So, Sylvette gets to walk in this chapter. I hope you're okay with it. :D By the way, I will be basing Connor's last name as 'Culh', not 'Kluff', okay? Okay.

There's this gut feeling within me that I have to tell you something—something important, but I forgot! D: Sorry!

**EDIT (11/03/2014): **So I had to surf the net a million times to see what or how solitary people are. I know I'm making such a big effort on this but I want my characters to be precise. Lol I even read a few chapters of a manga who had a girl who's like Emi. So yeah I hope I had made a big change on this chapter. New edits and chapters coming soon! Just keep hanging on folks.


	3. Paranoid

**Secrecy**

**A/N: **This is where the fun starts! I think that this fan-fiction will be mostly up to 8-10 chapters, since the storyline is quite short. Don't worry, I'm not very sure about it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

**WARNING: **May contain curses. This is a ZazieXOC pairing.

**DISCLAIMER: **_Kleia__ does not own Letter Bee—only her OCs. Thank you!_

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**CHAPTER THREE – Paranoid**

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"Ah, good morning, Emi!" Sylvette chimed in once the said girl went down the stairs, dressed in the Bee uniform. Knowing that Emi was looking for Lag, she said, "Lag went off just a while ago. He just realized that he had an important delivery," and walked until she was in front of Emi. "Is it okay for you to walk alone to the Bee Hive?" she inquired, her azure eyes evident of concern.

Emi silently nodded and went for the door, immediately declining—politely—Sylvette's offer to eat breakfast. (_"I made the special soup~!" she sang._) She then took her time to walk towards the Bee Hive, talking small steps.

Walking down the lighted streets, she looked around her surroundings—fascinated by how the houses were neatly lined in one row, the villagers were so diligent in selling their goods and the children and adults were so enthusiastic. She blinked at the Victorian-styled street lamps lined up on the side of the street, leading her with its brightness. _Yuusari is so nice, _she thought in amusement.

She suddenly turned around in alarm. Seeing that nobody peculiar was behind her, she blinked and decided to fasten her pace. _That's strange, _she thought, _I seriously thought that someone was following me._ She glanced at her dingo, who was calmly keeping up with her speed. She suddenly inhaled a sharp breath as she felt a stare as sharp as a hundred daggers pierce through her back, sending shivers up and down her spine. She once again looked behind her. No one peculiar was in her field of vision—only happy villagers.

Suddenly feeling paranoid, she began to run, her dingo catching up with her. Her breathing shortened. Though she bumped into random people, she kept on running, not even leaving an apology. She looked behind her, and with a glance, she saw a cloaked man, staring directly at her among the crowd. Her eyes dilated, she felt her heart skip a beat. _Who is that? _She asked mentally.

Emi gasped and let out a squeak when she felt her body being collided with someone else's. She felt hands on her shoulders when she was about to fall on the floor with the stranger—stopping her body from meeting the cold cobblestone floor. "Are you okay?" a boy's voice inquired. She nodded, eyes staring at the ground as if the dirt were interesting to look at. The voice let out a chuckle, "you know, I don't really look as scary," he let go of his grasp on her shoulders.

Emi acted as if she hadn't heard a thing from the boy. She nonchalantly took a step sideward and walked towards the direction of the Bee Hive.

"Wait up!" the boy exclaimed, causing Emi to sigh. He stopped walking as soon as he was beside her. He turned his head to look at the silent Emi. "What's your name?" he asked her.

Emi looked at him from the corners of her eyes before answering: "Emi," and she immediately reverted her gaze in front of her, avoiding the people who were about to bump into her.

"You're the new Bee, aren't you?" he inquired, and only earned an unvoiced nod as an answer. "You're a quiet girl, huh," he suddenly said after a moments pause. Emi's ears perked up at his statement and threw him a sideway glance before eyeing ahead of her once again. "Back in my past place, everyone—especially the girls—would always be noisy and cheery around me. They like me a lot, I guess," he said, and Emi observed a hint of longing and fondness in his voice, but she kept silent, signaling him to continue. "But you—you're different." He said, turning his head to his side to eye Emi, who was also staring back at him with her gray eyes.

She stayed silent. A chuckle served as her response, but she didn't giggle back. "I'm Hiro Zen," he suddenly said, a charming smile on his lips—which would normally make a girl waver, but for Emi, she didn't. Hiro raised his eyebrows in amusement. "You know, you're really interesting." He complemented with a cheeky wink.

When will the complements end? She asked herself, but it dawned on her that it was actually normal to receive complements from people at least everyday, so she had no choice but to grasp that fact and unknowingly sigh aloud as a consequence of her puzzling thoughts. She bit her lip, looking at her feet, which were taking a step forward each second. Left, right, left, right. She continued this until they arrived at their destination, to which she was unaware that they had arrived.

"Hey," he softly called out, an amused smile on his lips. He continued to eye her in hilarity as Emi snapped her head ahead and around her, before trotting back to him as soon as her eyes landed on his. "What happened to you?" he asked her, voice filled with delight.

"Hiro!" a feminine voice echoed from the Hive's doors. He knew that voice; he hears that voice everyday, wherever and whenever. He needn't to guess it was his cousin who was calling for him. He heard approaching footsteps coming near them. Louder, louder, louder, until it stopped half a meter away from them. _Thank you, Empress_, he inwardly exclaimed in great reprieve. "Where've you been? Why weren't you behind me?" she asked him in obvious anger as he turned around to face his fuming relative.

"I got lost in the crowd," he bluntly answered, much to his cousin's shock and annoyance.

"Seriously?" she asked him in incredulity, and received a nod as a reply. She rolled her emerald eyes at him and faced Emi, who was eyeing them. "Did he really?" she asked her, as if they've known each other for years, when it was apparent that they've just met.

Emi blinked at the sudden interaction. "I don't know. Hiro and I bumped into each other. That's all." she explained, Hiro rapidly bobbing his head up and down.

The newcomer mysteriously eyed Hiro up and down, as if telling him 'I'll keep my eye on you.' While doing that, Emi was absent-mindedly fiddling with her fingers, lips slightly apart. The girl turned towards her and grinned. "You must be Emi," she began, catching Emi's attention. "I'm Mia." Emi only nodded at her introduction, sometimes averting her gaze from the two's eyes. "So, have you done any deliveries yet?" Mia asked, breaking the awkward atmosphere between them.

"No, none yet," Emi answered with a shake of the head.

The sound of loud footsteps interrupted their conversation. They all whipped their heads to the sound and found themselves looking at Zazie, who had a rather annoyed expression on his face despite the lovely day they had ahead of them. "Oi," he began, his eyes half-opened. "Don't you all have important letters to deliver?" he reprimanded.

"Whoa, Zazie, what's with the voice?" Hiro mockingly asked as he smirked. He fixed his scarf and motioned his head towards Emi. "We're just having a conversation."

"Yeah," Mia shrugged nonchalantly, wondering why Zazie was in such a bad mood. "We're just making friends."

Zazie huffed as he shoved his hands in his uniform pocket—a slight habit of his. "Just get to work," he ordered, earning snorts from the two, bidding Emi their goodbyes—with Hiro winking at her and Mia scolding him for it—before leaving the two in front of the fountain. The awkwardness in the air immediately arose between them but Emi broke it by eyeing him once more before turning around and walking towards the Hive's door. He raised a brow and brought his feet to walk, trying to equal her cadence.

He slightly tilted his head to the side as he watched Emi's curls bounce as she walked towards the Hive. He found himself frowning after he sighed aloud, his bronze eyes still directed on her back as she entered the Hive, him following suit. Closing the door shut, his eyes once again found its way to Emi's back, which was facing the catastrophic scene in front of both of them. He knew it was time for the annual celebration of the Bees, but he didn't know it would be _that_ important that the Bees would look so cataclysmic before his very eyes. He heaved another heavy sigh of the day.

He blinked as he saw Emi looking left and right, as if formulating a strategy to get out of the mess and be alone. He didn't need to reprimand her, as he was feeling terribly the same as her. He wanted to start his day by delivering letters with his precious dingo and ending it with a peaceful sleep, but he doubted it would happen. "Hey…!" he called out, directing it to Emi. He, himself, was surprised as to how and why he called after her, and mentally prayed that she didn't hear him amidst the crowd.

When she was about to turn her head, he was—dare he say it—thankful that Lag was there to help him. "Emi!" he heard him call out. He saw bundles of white hair from where he was standing. Apparently, he was dragging her away, perhaps to show her what they were doing—or something he cares less about. He grumbled and took a few steps forward, finding his way through the crowd.

"_Letter Bee Zazie Winters and Letter Bee Emi Hunter, please proceed to the Director's office. Scramble dash. Thank you." _

Zazie's frown deepened. "What is it now?" he muttered to himself as he pushed his way through the crowd, eyes scanning the crowded hall to find Emi, or at least, to go to the office by himself.

"—yeah, okay. Bye."

His ears perked. He knew it was Emi. Although hardly ever speaking to her, he knew that what he heard was her voice. He then forgot about his original plan and made his way past the crowd in an instant, going up the stairs and walking down the second floor hallway towards the Director's office. His legs and hands were itching to finish whatever task Largo would assign him. Due to that feeling, he rushed towards his office.

After knocking twice, he gently and slowly opened the door, immediately removing his cap, showing his tousled brown hair. He silently walked towards the two adults until he was a meter away from them. His eyes were hard and burning with determination, as both his hands locked his cap across his diaphragm. A few silent seconds had passed and Emi silently entered the room, also removing her cap and placing it over her stomach.

"Good, you two are here," Largo began, his smile never leaving his face. "We both have a favor to ask of you," he added, locking his fingers on the desk. "Aria," his glasses shone as he nodded his head at Aria, who nodded back and turned to face Emi and Zazie.

"Now that most Bees are rather very hectic on decorating the Hive in preparation for the Annual Bee Festival, only a countable number of Bees were scheduled to do deliveries at least until half of the Bees are done with decorating," Aria explained, clutching her clipboard against her chest. "Apparently, Largo and I counted you as one of the Bees who would deliver letters for three to seven days, more or less."

Zazie frowned as he stared hardly at Aria and Largo. "Why us?" he asked, a hint of impoliteness in his voice, causing Aria to frown.

"You see, Letter Bee Zazie, you and Letter Bee Emi make a good team," Aria began, her emerald eyes boring holes through Zazie. When he was about to protest once again, she shushed him by raising her index finger. "Both of you are proficient in delivering letters, as you both completed the Bee exam with ease," she explained, "however, you often receive comments regarding dirty letters, Letter Bee Zazie, and that's very critical for our reputation, for there are chances it may go down.

"However, Letter Bee Emi is adept in keeping people's letters clean and in one piece, therefore, making her receive grateful comments from the receivers. Although having lost her letter in the exam, she has still managed to keep it spotless and not frayed…"

Zazie huffed. "I was the one who got it and gave it back to her in one piece…" he muttered, eyes on the floor.

"Her problem is gaichuu exterminating, where she is but a novice and is not yet experienced in that field," Aria said, ignoring Zazie's silent complains. Her eyes landed on Zazie. "This is where you come in once again, Letter Bee Zazie. As we all know, you specialize in gaichuu extermination for personal purposes," she cleverly explained, pushing her glasses up her nose bridge. "It is therefore beneficial for both of you to back each other up. Long story short, you, Letter Bee Zazie, will take care of the gaichuu while Letter Bee Emi will be entrusted in taking care of the letters. That way, it will easier for both of you to finish the deliveries. And I also trust that nothing will go wide of the mark," Aria said in a stern voice. "Am I understood?"

"Yes, Sub-Master." Emi and Zazie simultaneously answered.

Aria nodded and brought out the letters that needed to be delivered. "Here are the letters," she said, presenting the two an impossible stack of undelivered letters. "You can start delivering at any time you want, as long as you will finish quickly."

While Emi nodded and proceeded to stuff her bag with letters, Zazie stared at the stack of letters. "You expect us to deliver those within a _day_?" he incredulously asked, his index finger pointing at the stack of letters in front of him.

"I didn't say that you need to finish the delivery within a day, Letter Bee Zazie," Aria answered, her voice as hard as her stare. "I instructed both of you to finish it as soon as possible."

Zazie could only sigh as a response. He dragged his feet towards the letters and shoved them in his bag, closing it when he was done. He stood up slowly, slightly feeling heavy due to the letters. He walked until he was beside Emi, who looked as if she would faint at any time.

"I wish you two good luck on your journey." Largo said with a small smile before dismissing them.

They both bowed in reverence before walking out of the room, still struggling with their bags. As soon as they were out of the room, Zazie immediately released a gruff and annoyed breath, leaning against the wall. "Let's start this shit once the tenth bell rings, okay?" he ordered, tilting his head upwards until it was facing the ceiling, his eyes closed in exasperation.

"Okay," Emi answered quietly, eyeing Zazie, who was folding his arms across his chest.

He opened one eye, now tilting his head downward to face Emi. "Meet me in front of the Hive. Tenth bell."

"Okay."

* * *

**EDIT (6/20/14): **Lol, while erasing everything and replacing it, I accidentally erased my original author's note. Silly me. XD Anyway, this chapter made a huge difference to me since I observed greatly that Emi is actually an introvert or somewhat solitary, so she should be quiet most of the time, unless around people she's close with; which is nobody right now.

I'm also not sure about updates at this time, since I'm studying under pressure right now, and Fridays are my escape. Seriously.

I hope you enjoyed the edited version of Paranoid! :)

**EDIT (11/03/2014): **I didn't really edit anything here that much. Or maybe I was just lazy. Or hasty. School's coming back by tomorrow so I'm hurrying this up so I could post new chapters. I'm so sorry I'm making you wait. I promise the new chapters will be good. Cope with me please. Just a few left.


	4. Expedition

**Secrecy**

**A/N: **This is just a chapter filled with regular events—and by that, I meant no gaichuu fighting or whatnot. Just Zazie and Emi spending their day as Letter Bees—with no gaichuus. So, yeah… action will come soon, don't worry! ;)

**WARNING: This is a ZaziexOC pairing.**

**DISCLAIMER: **_Kleia does not own Letter Bee—only her OCs._

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR – Expedition**

* * *

Once Emi soundlessly stepped inside her temporary shelter, she felt a sense of safety—not to mention a slap of tiredness—wash over her as the warm and homely ether welcomed her in. Her stoic grey eyes wandered around the halls and rooms in search of Sylvette, though she knows that that girl, who was always fond of cooking albeit the unpalatable result of her effort, would always be found in the kitchen, a wooden spoon in hand.

"Emi? Lag?" her high-pitched voice asked from the kitchen after a few seconds of silence. Instinctively, Emi walked to where she was, her face showing no emotion as always. Showing up by the doorway of the kitchen, Emi knocked on the wooden frame of it, catching Sylvette's attention. A smile immediately spread on her lips. "Oh, Emi! You're home early. Came over for lunch?" Sylvette dipped the wooden ladle in the pot, raised it, and tasted the soup, a delighted look on her lineaments. Emi inwardly wondered how she thinks that her soup tastes good, if not, the best. But she decided to brush it off and waited for Sylvette to face her way.

She did, and Emi immediately shook her head. "It's only fifteen minutes until the tenth bell." She pointed out insouciantly. Eccentrically, she knew Sylvette would ask her that, for she had been cooking for a while now. But Emi hadn't really expected herself to be prepared for that question. She knew Sylvette for only a day but she feels like they have been friends for a month or so. Maybe it was because she observed people a little too much. As a child, she was considered to be "weird" since she spends her time watching people, observing them, mentally taking down each person's nature. People thought she couldn't speak well, for she was the most inaudible child among all the other kids from where she was. They were all too sprightly. They all loved outdoors. They were all the same.

But she wasn't.

She was the child who was different. She was the rotten apple among all the fresh apples. The one-legged tin soldier amid the perfectly made tin soldiers. She was an indoor person, preferring hot chocolate and books over juice and toys, listening rather than talking too loud. And she couldn't force herself to become one of them because she loved silence. For other kids, it was too loud for their liking. But for her, she thinks that silence was made for her. So she listened to it.

She hadn't realized that her words have been hanging in the air for a while. She blinked and snapped her eyes at Sylvette, who was looking at her worriedly. "Are you okay? Sick? Is that why you came home?" She walked towards her, taking Emi's hands in hers, her azure eyes showing concern.

Emi shook her head no. "I have a delivery with Zazie," she said, her eyes not leaving Sylvette's. "We'll be back in maybe three days."

Sadness was discernible in Sylvette's features—Emi noted—but she quickly replaced it with forced happiness. "I'll help you pack," she said, "You did say you have a few clothes with you, didn't you? I'll lend you mine." Sylvette said and Emi watched her stroll towards the pot and cover it with a lid, walking towards her after. "Come on." She grabbed her hand and led her to Sylvette's room. "Too bad we couldn't shop because of that." Sylvette said in discontent after a long silence, Emi looking up as she blinked multiple times.

"I don't really like shopping," She suddenly admitted, watching Sylvette fishing out clothes for her to wear.

In a small pile, Sylvette planted the clothes at the edge of her bed, eyeing Emi questioningly afterwards. "Why? Don't you think shopping is fun? You get to see cute clothes!"

"I just don't like crowded places." She nonchalantly said, as if she told this to people so many times she lost count. She was surprised by this sudden action, but brushed it off instead.

Sylvette kept eyeing her. "Why didn't you tell me then? I could've got clothes for you myself." She stated, expression filled with worry and maybe, as she could've guessed, very slight irritation.

Emi shrugged, gently taking Sylvette's clothes and, one by one, as if each piece of cloth were made of porcelain, she placed her provisional clothes inside her messenger bag. "I don't have the need to tell you." She said after silence followed, her eyes focused on the clothes inside her bag as she arranged them neatly. Just as she tilted her head up to take a glance of Sylvette, she immediately noted how she hurt her feelings, judging by how quick she ended their eye contact, her hand rubbing her other arm.

_She'll give up on me soon,_ was what she thought just as she fixed the strap and planted it on her shoulder, removing her blonde curls under the strap. She never had people with her for a long time. They all give up on her before she even knew it. They'd leave her unknowingly just because of a single thing she'd unconsciously say, like a robot—she was said to have no feelings. Unflappable. Emotionless. Unmerciful. That's what they all call her.

And she was used to it.

Her ears perked once she heard the tenth bell ring. She glanced at Sylvette. Avoided her eyes. And dashed towards the exit. "Ihavetogo." She said in a great imperativeness, as if time was leaving her already. And she had to catch up. She needn't to look back to see if Sylvette was chasing her too. If she was standing by the doorway, out of breath, silently bidding her goodbye. She knew she wouldn't do that to someone like her. So she never looked back and kept running ahead, anticipating a certain boy named Zazie impatiently waiting for her.

And he was. Standing by the fountain in the middle of Yuusari, was Zazie, arms folded across his chest, his head slightly tilted towards the sky, an annoyed expression on his face as he counted the stars that dotted the evermore midnight sky. Emi ceased running and decided to just walk toward him at that distance. So she did.

Reaching a safe meter as their distance, his head suddenly snapped at her and she found herself having eye contact with his dark eyes. Her heart skipped a beat at the sudden movement of Zazie which caused her to slower her pace. Everything around her suddenly became blurry and Zazie was the only thing her eyes were focused on, how his eyes are dark as he stared at her with an expression that is burning with irritation and impatience, how he stood so casually, leaning by the fountain. That was what she sees in him. He is gallant. Not afraid of showing people his true emotion. And she may be fascinated about that fact.

Zazie's sudden _tsk _snapped her of her train of thoughts. She blinked and saw Zazie now walking towards her, hands still in his pockets. "You're late." He simply pointed out, already an arm's length away from her. She never avoided his eyes and never did he. Looking down on her due to their height difference with authority, he removed his hands from his pockets. "We'll be taking a carriage to Honey Waters and deliver _all _the letters as soon as possible. If distractions are to come, then finish them off instantly. We should be back within two to three days." He informed, eyes still on Emi's as she mentally took note of what he was saying.

"Did you bring money with you?" He questioned, and she nodded.

He nodded back, slightly turning around. "Okay. We'll just stick to the Sub-Master's orders—I'm offense, you're defense." And with that, he turned around.

**…**

Emi knew, and needless to say, predicted, that the ride to their destination would be a road to deafness. Neither Zazie nor her spoke. Not even a word. Well, they did—but it was only about their delivery. And that was it. No ifs, buts, or anything out of that topic. All she did was nod to what he was saying—admittedly, even if she didn't get what he was saying, just for the sake of getting it over with—and stare out the window afterward.

It wasn't even like she wanted to talk to him about everything without talking about anything at all. She isn't—and never was—like that. So she should brush it off. Forget about it. But as she unconsciously averted her gaze from the midnight blue sky, she threw a glance at Zazie, who seemed to be in deep thought as he stared out the window, chin at the palm of his gloved hand, eyes staring beyond what he sees, mouth curved into a profound frown and legs crossed, forming a _4_ as Wasiolka slept at his feet, she knew that maybe—just maybe, she wanted to strike a random conversation with him. At least a small one. She could make friends. Have friends. Keep friends. She could—

No. Perhaps she couldn't handle it. She's taught to be independent. Taught to live alone. Personally, she didn't like to spend a lot of time with people to begin with. So why was she troubled by the thought of socializing anyway? Why—

He turned his head to face her. And there she realized, she had been staring at him since the moment she started to think deeply. She flinched as her heart skipped a beat. She instantly returned to stargazing but as five seconds passed, she decided to throw another glance at him. He was still looking at her. She looked back at the sky.

"Saw anything interesting?" He suddenly asked, breaking the pregnant silence. She slowly turned her head to face him, putting on the most stoic face she could ever muster. She blinked as she familiarized herself with his facial details. He was smirking. And that was the only thing she noticed. Not the eyes, not the hair, not the posture. But his smirk. And now she knew why she needn't to be friends with a person like him.

She turned away. "No."

Once she started back to gazing at the stars, the carriage came to an abrupt stop, causing their bodies to slightly be thrown forward due to the force. She held on to the wooden frame of the window for life's sake, and snapped her head to where the driver was. "My apologies! This is the farthest the carriage could go!" the carriage man exclaimed, voice showing sincere apology and a tad embarrassment. "Up ahead is a cliff, so it's very dangerous for a carriage to cross that area." He informed. "I hope you forgive my sudden stop. Have a safe journey!" He said as they hopped off the carriage, their things in hand. The man thanked Emi as she handed him the payment, and afterward, he left the two with a kind grin.

"Guess it's time to finally walk," Zazie finally said, stretching his arms toward the midnight sky, groaning in satisfaction in hearing his joints pop. After which, he began to stroll toward the cliff that leads to their destination, Wasiolka tailing behind him. Emi and Shiro followed suit, keeping a safe distance from the two ahead of them.

As expected, the trip was like walking into a ghost town. Emi wasn't surprised at all by this circumstance. But she was rather shocked at the thought of her wanting to talk to someone nowadays even though she'd rather be alone. It was confusing and frustrating. Like the feeling of adding so many other ingredients in the stew, but it won't taste right or just how you want it to be. Maybe even worse.

She blinked and rapidly shook her head, somewhat stumbling in her steps as she did so. Unfortunately, Zazie caught her in the act. He stared at her nonchalantly—with boredom. "What's gotten into you?" He asked, his tone monotonous as he retraced his steps. He was now beside her, slightly leaning in and facing her, getting a better view of her visage. "Hm?"

She faintly withdrew her face because of the very small proximity between their faces, lineaments showing a morsel of shock. After moments of looking into each other's eyes, she finally shook her head and pushed her way through, not looking back.

Emi shut her thoughts out and focused on walking. Fast. Though she knew he was catching up, she kept from ceasing. Until she heard a feminine voice call from the distance:

"It's you!"

* * *

**A/N:** Okay so I decided to tweak a little things here and there, and ended up with this. So yeah, I hope you liked the edited version better. :)

**EDIT (6/23/14): **So yeah, I edited some major parts of the story, to those who read this earlier, you'll notice a very big difference in it. I dunno, my writing may have changed ever since school has started but... eh. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this edited version! And I hope it'll never be done again, lol.

**EDIT 2 (10/31-11/01/2014): **Okay I know I hoped that it'll never be done again but how could I help it? I was seriously vomiting over my ugly writing. (Not really.) Anyway, I now hope I won't edit this again and also, Emi is now more solitary or isolated. Pardon me if she is a bit rude(?) but that is how she is. Or what I think she is. It has been a while since I've last written, to be honest. Major writer's block. The worst kind. I couldn't even bring my hands or finger on the keyboard because I don't know what to write. It is indeed bogus. (Sorry for the word.) Also, _I have changed my username, _in case you haven't noticed. I decided to be a new person. Not _Fianan Gleoite _anymore. But I will be here as _Kleia. _(I'll still be the same though, so what's the point?)

Regardless, I am forever hoping that you liked this updated version more than any edits I have done before.

Any comments, critiques, suggestions, or opinions about this chapter? Review or PM me! I don't bite!


	5. Tired

**Secrecy**

**EDIT (6/28/14): **A shoutout to **MostlyJustBrielle** for pointing out the mistakes in this chapter, lol. Although they were small... well, I'm a perfectionist when it comes to these, so yeah.

**WARNING: May contain curses. This is a ZaziexOC pairing.**

**DISCLAIMER: **_Fianan Gleoite doesn't own Letter Bee—only her OCs._

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE – Tired**

* * *

Zazie felt all-in when Ann finally arrived in front of him and Emi. Although doing nothing else but sitting and walking for a thousand miles—in his perspective—he felt worn-out for no valuable reason. He'd been trying to tell himself it was because he was in a bad mood—courtesy of Aria's explanation and a bad start of his day—but to his avail, he didn't think so, himself. He was just simply tired, and that was all to his day. Very tiring.

He knew himself, of course; he was always grumpy, and have always had a meager chance of people to see him smile genuinely. A smirk is what his lips wear almost everyday. But albeit those facts, he never counted himself as being easily drained. He exterminates gaichuus—a job which is deemed as very, very arduous as one must exert a lot of effort for him to not be eaten by the heartless creature, one must also have a lot of heart in him to defeat the metallic bug. But he kept wondering why he felt so _drained _by simply walking towards Honey Waters.

"Hey," he greeted oh-so casually and calmly, raising a hand with his signature smirk. He kept his eyes on Ann's serious deep blue ones. He put his hand down, shoving it in his pocket, his lips still wearing a smirk. "Long time no see, Ann." He added, voice still keeping the same tone despite his inward screams of lying down on a bed and just dozing off the whole day.

Ann eyed him firmly, scanning him up and down as if making sure he is the real Zazie. She nodded, hands on her hips. "Likewise, Zazie. You never changed a bit," she said, her voice as hard as a rock. Zazie bobbed his head downwards in a nod, acknowledging her observation. Her eyes landed on Emi, who was locking gazes with her feet. "And you," she called out, directing it to Emi, who snapped her head at her. Ann slightly tilted her head upwards, her eyes inspecting Emi. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Emi," she simply answered, glancing up at her then looking away again.

Ann nodded in slight interest of her simple yet informative answer. "Age?" she questioned more, slightly leaning forward.

"Thirteen,"

She nodded once again. "You're a female Bee…" she muttered, her blue eyes still inspecting Emi, much to her discomfort. She leaned backwards, hands still on her hips. "I'm Ann Grado, same age as Zazie," she suddenly said, earning a small nod from Emi. "We both met in this same place after a gaichuu almost stole a sack full of letters," she added, looking pleased as the memories flooded her mind. "He saved me from being eaten by one, and after that…" she trailed off.

"I promised to handle the letters here. Yeah, yeah, we both know that," Zazie said, interrupting Ann's statement with a bored shrug. He glanced at Emi before looking at Ann once again, noticing how tense her shoulders then and relaxed now. Small talks must've been series of torture for her. He knew what it felt, but he didn't want to say it. "Speaking of letters, Ann, we obviously didn't come here for chit-chat," Zazie straightforwardly said, causing Ann to raise an eyebrow at him. "We still have a lot of letters to be delivered. As soon as possible," he added, obviously not looking thrilled, "so we have to get this done, and probably stay the night." He turned to Emi, who looked far beyond him and Ann. He turned back to Ann, who nodded.

"Just give me the letters. I'll give them to the townspeople," she offered.

Although badly wanting another person to do his job—although more like a burden to him—he obviously didn't want a girl to do it. "Are you sure?" he inquired, taking out a hand from his pocket to fix his hat, stuffing it inside his pocket once again. He smirked. "They're a lot."

Ann huffed, folding her arms across her chest. "Of course I can, how old do you think I am?"

Zazie could only smirk and laugh through his nose at Ann's statement. At the corners of his eyes, he saw Emi give a fleeting look up at Ann, looking at her for a second, before staring back at the ground once again. "Then we'll just help you," He suggested, earning a small nod from her. He turned his head to Emi, who bit her bottom lip—quite profound in thought—before releasing it from her teeth, the color, from white, turning pinker and pinker.

Deciding that it was time to snap Emi out of her trance, Zazie then planted a hand on her shoulder, patting it. "Oi, heard what we're talking about?" He asked her with a playful smirk as she turned to eye him. She simply shook her head a no. He raised a brow and slightly chuckled. "Let's just deliver the letters. Let's go—I want this finished!"

"And maybe after that, I could show you an inn. You can't keep on walking all night." Ann stated, which earned a nod from the two Bees. Not a moment to waste, the trio then delivered to the townsfolk their letters.

**o-o-o-o-o**

The moment Ann opened the door to their room where they'll be staying, Zazie immediately ran towards a random bed—which was by the window—and jumped onto it, gently and silently, like a cat. He groaned loudly in satisfaction as his sore body met the bed's supple and smooth texture. He felt as if he was in cloud nine. The bed's softness comforted his aching muscles and the smooth texture consoled his rough skin. "This… is… the best…" he softly said against the edge of the pillow, a satisfied smile on his face. He snuggled more into the pillow, feeling Wasiolka's weight by his feet.

His eyes were closed and his breathing slow and heavy. He heard the muffled voices of Emi and Ann, and the closing of the door. He felt too lazy to get up from the bed. Just as his body was about to give in to the demands of the bed and his own self, he heard Emi call his name. She told him to dress properly for sleep, in which he replied with an irritated groan. "… Just let me sleep…" he said, obviously bothered, and ordered his whole being to give in to the darkness of his closed eyes.

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**A/N:** Spare me for the shortness of this chapter. I was originally planning to combine some events here from the other chapter, but I decided not to. Anyway, I actually said that I was pre-writing this story, and well... I ended up editing it due to some crappy mistakes and childishness here and there. I somehow wanted it to be realistic. I would sometimes even put myself into Emi's shoes if I have to. XD

Putting that aside, editing would be slower than usual, since school is here. (School here starts on June, and ends on March.) I've been forced to studying under pressure and weekends are my only free time, if homeworks are done. But even still, I'll finish this story and the sequel, like I promised. :) So yes, I hope you liked the short chapter.

**EDIT (11/03/2014): **Only a few has been edited, perhaps due to laziness or lack of some inspiration. It's quite hard to be in Zazie's shoes once again since I haven't seen him in quite a while. The manga updates are slow and only then that I found out that **chapter 68 and 69 **are released just last October 31. Bummer since we were out that day. Not only that but I spent the break being a busy Bee which was a very high contrast of what I was expecting. Anyway I'm thrilled that I could update once again since this is the last chapter edited! Chapter 6 doesn't need to be edited since it was only recent. So I thank you for hanging on. :)


	6. Nightmare

**Secrecy**

**A/N: **If you're confused about the time in the last chapter, I'll explain it for you: Zazie and Emi went to the Hive at 9 AM, went on their delivery at 10, and arrived at Honey Waters at, let's say 12 NN. They finished delivering the letters—with Ann's help—at around 2 PM. Now, you might be wondering why Zazie immediately slept at that time. And let's just say that after finishing the delivery, the three spent the whole afternoon together. I just added a non-obvious time skip since, for me, it kinda ruins the chapter. So right now will be nighttime on the same day. Hope you understand and hope you'll enjoy!

By the way, thanks for the latest reviews! :D

**R&amp;R!**

**WARNING: Curses ahead. This is a ZaziexOC pairing.**

**DISCLAIMER: **_Fianan Gleoite does not own Letter Bee—only her OCs._

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****CHAPTER SIX – Nightmare** **

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Sitting on the edge of the bed, Emi fished out a book that she borrowed from Sylvette—who knew she was an avid reader of romance novels?—and finally laid down on the supple bed, slightly and softly groaning when her back came in contact with the pillow that was against the bed head. She knew it was late, furthermore, she knew that both Zazie and her have deliveries to finish ("ASAP," he strictly said) by tomorrow. On the other hand, she was born a night bird—or so she liked it to be called, "logically speaking"—and would never miss a night going to sleep once she felt like it. And this night, it was apparent that she didn't want to give in to the bed and darkness just yet.

She flipped open the book and began reading. The fluorescent lamp on her left, shining a bright yellow-orange, illuminated half the room, but mostly her book. She tucked a stray strand of her golden hair behind her ear, and palmed her low messy bun before planting her hand on the other edge of her book once again. She shifted in her position as she flipped another page, her gray eyes rapidly scanning the page, not even bothering to think about the complex words she stumbled upon. She frowned, not having the mood to read.

She closed her eyes and tipped her head slightly downwards, letting her pair of glasses slide down the bridge of her nose to its edge. Strangely, her eyes stung and felt tired. She opened them, her vision blurry, and tried to blink away the tears that formed due to the sting. She licked her lips, closed the book shut, and sighed through her nose. From an inverted _v_, she stretched her legs across the space of the bed in front of her, resting her head on the bed head—slowly closing her eyes as her bangs slid down her temples—in delight as she felt her muscles expand. Her chest slowly heaved up, and she exhaled just as well. Bringing one hand to her nose, she pushed her glasses on its right place, all the while grabbing the bundle of her bangs and placing it by her left temple once again.

Outlandish things have happened lately, as she observed, but it revolved around her. Albeit her observation, she wasn't entirely sure. She needed some data, evidence, before she could formulate a plan or whatnot. She knew it wasn't anything related to the word _good_, seeing as the cloaked man earlier grinned at her malevolently. Shivers ran up and down her spine. She closed her eyes and exhaled a long breath, before opening them once again. She planted the book on the table where the lamp was, and her stare remained there.

Her eyes traveled from the red cover of the book to the fluorescent lamp. She kept her gaze there for seconds and averted it, knowing that it wasn't beneficial for her eyes. She then stared out the window, then her eyes ventured down Zazie, who lay asleep on his bed soundly, despite his eyebrows furrowing. Her lips stretched into an unconscious smile at the sight. Lying on his stomach, his arms were scattered on both his sides and his head was facing her, showing her his closed eyes and slightly ajar mouth. She could hear his soft snores from where she lay. She almost mistook Zazie for a child. She blinked at Wasiolka, who—notwithstanding the soles of Zazie almost in front of her face—slept as soundly as her owner, one paw crossed over the other and her head on top of it.

Abruptly, Zazie's body shot upwards, as if he'd been electrocuted. Emi could see the littlest details from where she sat—sweat trickled down the temples of his head, his breathing haggard, and his eyes were looking beyond what he sees. It was plain that Zazie had a nightmare—the kind that haunted him ever since, as Emi observed. Her eyes were still locked on him.

"… What time is it?" Zazie suddenly asked in a hoarse voice, slowly, and oh-so casually.

In reflex, Emi averted her eyes from him and instead directed them on her book, which lay on her lap, her hands on top of it. "Um, around the twentieth hour, I guess…" she dubiously said. She took a sideway glance at him when she heard a thump on his bed and the ruffling and shifting of bed sheets. Her hands traced the golden vine-like flower on the book's cover. "So, um," she began, awkwardness clear in her tone. Her cheeks felt warmer. "Looks like you had a nightmare…" she trailed off.

A pause. Her words hung in the air for a moment. She bit her lip, assuming that maybe she chose the wrong topic to talk about—especially with Zazie. She was irritated with him at first—she knew that, considering she made a tantrum about it with her dingo—but why is she trying to talk to him now?

"… Yeah," he finally said, causing Emi to shoot her head upwards from her book and face him, blinking multiple times. "Was I… squirming or mumbling things or all that shit people do when they have nightmares?" he inquired, his voice high-pitched in uncertainty and curiosity.

Emi shook her head no. "Not that I heard anything while you were asleep… I don't think so," she said, and silence enveloped the room afterwards. She bit her lip, and attempted to open her book once again to avoid the tension to rise, but her hands just couldn't bring themselves to do her brain's order. She mentally sighed in frustration. From the corners of her eyes, she saw Zazie nod once and close his eyes. Hopefully, he decided to sleep.

"… Want me to tell you 'bout it?" Zazie asked, voice guttural and low, but was still audible enough for Emi to hear. He still had his head resting on the pillow and his eyes shut closed when Emi had the valor to steal a glance.

In all honesty, Emi knew that he'd ask that question, but she never thought of him asking her if she wanted to know about his nightmare. She thought that he'd change his mind and brush it off instead, and that he'd plan to tell her once they're close friends—something that seemed to be impossible for them to achieve—but he didn't. He actually asked her the question she thought he'd ignore inside his mind. And now, she wondered if she'd say _yes _or just plainly decline his offer with the reason of going to sleep for the sake of reasoning and avoiding the topic which—in her perspective—was actual torture.

But then second thoughts popped up—what if he'd have those nightmares again? But why would she be concerned of that? She thought they were tangible _non_-friends—acquaintances—who only talked for the sake of their job and people's hearts. But she knew what he'd been going through—with the exception of what's behind his nightmares—; having those nightmares that haunt you at any hour of the night, reminding you of the past that you don't want to encounter anymore. The past that left a scar on you. The haggard breathing, the sweat that trickles down your temples, the way your eyes enlarge just by simply remembering your nightmare, the shivers that run up and down your spine—she experienced all of those, and she knew that everyone will never not have a nightmare.

So she absent-mindedly bobbed her head up and down to his offer, silently, calmly, and ready to lend her ears. "… Okay," she quietly said, knowing that Zazie wasn't looking at her. Her gray eyes were on the red cover of her book, blinking once, twice, slowly. Thoughts of his nightmare filled her mind as she waited for his voice to resound across the four corners of the room. What was it about—himself, his family, or anything unimaginable?

She heard a sigh from Zazie's bed.

He was about to tell her.

"It was…" he trailed off, his voice the same as before. He didn't bother to clear his throat. "It was about my parents."

_What about your parents, _she'd asked inwardly.

"They were eaten by that bastard gaichuu," he said, his voice now hard and filled with malevolence, and as if he has a desire to do something dire. Emi bit her lower lip at his choice of words. She was sweating. "And I swear that I'll find that gaichuu and kill it till I feel satisfied. But I won't ever be satisfied by just killing that damned sorry excuse of a heartless creäture. It just won't be enough to… to do just _that_. I wanna do something more than that. Something that would really avenge them. Because I never really treated them as my own parents. Hell, I actually treated them like shit."

She didn't know what to say. Knowing that trying to comfort him and tell him to calm down would actually make him more furious—considering Zazie's anger and the human logic about it—she also knew that she should do something. But she didn't know what that _something _is. Hearing the way he spoke about his tragic past made her observe critically his tone of voice and the way he told her his past—full of hurt, sadness, grief, vengeance… she could go on and on; a list of eternal feelings. But she noticed that he didn't have any anger. Maybe a tad bit, but not as much as he used to have on usual occasions.

And yet she couldn't believe herself, too—listening to the heartbreaking tragedy of a Letter Bee named Zazie Winters, noting his tone of voice, and just _listening _to him made her furrow her eyebrows.

What happened to her?

"Ah…" he broke her train of thoughts. She slightly jumped in her spot and snapped her head at him. He looked at her. "Did I scare you?"

Emi blinked and focused her attention down on the wooden floor, before turning her head to her lap once again. She shook her head no. "No, not really," she admitted. _A nightmare's a nightmare. Everyone gets scared of those, _she wanted to say, but couldn't. Yet she opened her mouth to speak out those words, but none came out.

And still she wonders: when did Zazie become so… susceptible? It was a trait that she couldn't picture Zazie himself having. It seemed unfeasible. Zazie, a Letter Bee whom she viewed to be insensitive, and somewhat harsh and full of anger, actually told her his past as if it was normal. As if he'd told this to so many people countless of times that, to him, it was just like a simple story about his parents and how he lost them. How he wanted to avenge them.

She frowned at the thought of her observation. And she felt her chest tighten.

"Maybe we should go to sleep," Zazie finalized, and only then that Emi noticed the silence that had enveloped them afterwards, leaving her words hanging in the air for so long.

She nodded, feeling her cheeks warm. "Yes, I think we should," she said as she gently planted the book on the bedside table and lifted up the blanket of her bed, tucking herself in after she put out the lamp. She bit her lip as her head landed on her pillow, taking one last glance at Zazie before rolling over to one side so that she now faced the wall, her back against him. She mentally sighed.

"Good night," they said in unison.

Emi felt her eyebrows furrow together. Turning her head to face Zazie—her body slightly turned with her head—her eyebrows still knitted together as she saw his back facing her, but later relaxed just as well. She brought her head back to facing the wall, her eyes slowly fluttering closed. She felt relief wash over her as soon as she heard Zazie's tranquil and dawdling breathing blending well with hers. And she decided to capitulate to the darkness, and be transported to a black world wherein both her body and mind are asleep, but her soul isn't.

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**A/N:** _So I've decided to update on a Tuesday because NO CLASSES. _(Sorrynotsorry.) I'm really sorry for not updating regularly, lol. I've been in the mood to write this lately, but don't have the time to do so because of school and how complex everything is. So yeah, I'm very bad at doing update schedules since I usually do it on the spot but even still, I'll try my best.

Feel free to point out something strange and OOC in this chapter; especially Emi. And yeah sorry for the short chapter, too.

**R&amp;R!**

(I won't post my links for now since I'm too lazy to do so.)

**NOTE:** I'm in need of help for the introverted personality, or most likely something related to a solitary personality! If you could be of help, either post a review about it or drop me a PM, and I'll thank you eternally for it.

* * *

_Please support my other fics: **Disconnected** (formerly known as **Young Love**), **But You're Not Here Anymore**, **A Wait Longer Than Eternity, **and **Out of My League**! Thank you~_


	7. Airhead

**Secrecy**

**A/N: **I still couldn't get over the fact that many people liked the previous chapter. I was feeling extremely happy over it. Thank you so much for your support, everyone! Anyway, _prepare for action_. Yes, finally, There. Is. Action. And pardon me, for I am but an amateur at writing action scenes.

**WARNING: **Might contain curses. This is a ZaziexOC pairing.

**DISCLAIMER: **_Kleia__ does not own Letter Bee—only her OCs._

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVEN – Airhead**

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Now walking down the bustling streets of the town of Sonata, Zazie cared less about everything around him—how the streets were being illuminated by Victorian-styled lamps, and how the sound of harmonic and melodious music resounding throughout the town—and merely kept his eyes on the ground, the familiar scene from last night replaying over and over again in his mind like a broken phonograph.

Having to tell an acquaintance—let alone Emi—about his nightmare, parents, and how they died was simply mortifying for him. And the thing is, he didn't know why. He told countless of people and acquaintances about that subject, but he didn't feel not even a tad bit embarrassed after he told them that. Only anger, and that's it. But telling it to Emi was a different story, and he couldn't fathom why. He knew she was silent the whole time, but the people he told them about it also reacted the same way. But Emi's silence was different. It was like she wanted to say something, but couldn't, as if a lump was trapped in her throat, waiting for the words to come out.

Regardless, he knew through observation that Emi was born silent. Introverted. Or maybe even solitary. He knew it. The way she acts around the other Bees, the way she talks, even the way she walks—he could hint that she definitely isn't convivial. But why was the silence coming from Emi last night was a different kind of silence, he didn't know.

Nearing the exit of the town, they were now returning from their delivery. He sighed in relief, delighted by the fact that he could rest peacefully in his own house. He slightly turned his head to Emi, who has her eyes on her feet, and faced ahead of him again, Wasiolka tailing beside him. He stretched his hands towards the sky, as if reaching for all the stars dotting the midnight blue heaven. "Finally… we're finally done," he groaned in satisfaction, slowly planting his hands inside the pockets of his uniform. He earned a hum of agreement from Emi. "Man, they shouldn't order us around when we're back in the Hive." From his peripheral view, he saw Emi nod.

"I heard it's the annual Bee celebration." She suddenly said after a long silence. Zazie then blinked and turned to face her, eyes impassive as they now faced the road. Zazie noted how her voice is soft and even. Not too high like other shy girls who merely want boys to be swooned over it, or low to somewhat impress them as well. It didn't sound as excited either. And somehow, he felt like he could share the same feelings about the celebration with her.

Letting the words sink in, he realized what they did every year at every celebration: plays. And he absolutely loathed plays. "Fuck." Ironically—and unfortunately—he is always nominated as the main protagonist and antagonist, and strangely and annoyingly, people never get tired of it.

Emi looked at him with grey eyes that questioned.

"We're doing plays." He informed, eyes on the cliffy road. "Fucking plays."

"Plays are kind of troublesome," Emi flatly said.

He perked up. "You think so too?" He asked, the corners of his eyes crinkling in what seemed to be joy of having an ally. He earned a nod from Emi and instantly, he smirked. "Someone finally understands." He said, somewhat feeling a tad proud. At least someone understood him—

Suddenly, Wasiolka began to growl lowly beside him, staring at what seemed to be an empty space as her fur slightly stood and her paws firm on the ground. Snapping his head at Emi's dingo, Shiro, it had its fur standing up and her guard just as high, glaring at the same thin air Wasiolka has been looking at. Having a high sense of hearing, Zazie instantly fished out his shindanjuu and aimed it to where the dingoes glared.

"We have company." He muttered, bronze eyes narrowed, as he threw a sideway glance at Emi, who seemed to be calm and collected as she readied her bow and arrow. "Strange… this isn't gaichuu te—"

The ground rumbled, pebbles shaking and falling off the cliff, the sound of mechanical movement resounding in their ears, their vision blurry as they tried to sustain their equilibrium. Zazie's eyes darted around the area, searching for their unwanted guest. "Where are you, little bastard…?" He glowered as he clenched his pearl white teeth.

The sound of the nocking point being stretched was heard. Then followed an arrow being released, a powerful sound of a _whoosh _being created as it went. He snapped his head at Emi, then turned to the arrow, with the golden yellow glow and remnants of heart floating about, stuck on the cold ground. _She was luring it, _he thought in realization, as he watched her get another arrow from her quiver and aim at the same spot, aura as calm as the deep blue sea, eyes focused and concentrated.

Within a minute, the gaichuu finally showed itself, lowering its head to the arrow, and eating the heart mercilessly. Zazie narrowed his eyes as he searched for its gap. Once he found it, his eyes slightly widened. "There." He muttered. He turned to face Emi, who was doing the same examining. "On top. It's the gap. We have to be airborne."

Emi threw him a sideway-long glance, stretching her bow string even more. "No need." She simply said before firing, the arrow burning a golden yellow, flying amid the midnight sky, and hitting the gap. But nothing happened.

"It deflected…!" Zazie said pensively, watching as the gaichuu started towards them. He let out a sharp gasp and tightened his jaw. _It's hidden in the wings, _he concluded. _We have to make it open its fucking wings. _He snapped his head at Emi, who attentively blinked at the sudden circumstance. "Under the wings. It's hidden." He pointed out, earning a sideway glance from Emi, who nodded and whispered something to her dingo. Narrowing his eyebrows, he knew they had limited time. "Emi! Stick to the Sub-Master's orders! I'm offense, you're defense! Distract that goddamned gaichuu again like awhile ago. I'll handle this." He instructed her, loading his shindanjuu as Emi obeyed.

Waiting for Emi to shoot, he nodded at Wasiolka, who knew the signal, and ran toward the gaichuu, distracting it. He then turned to Emi, who now held the nock of the arrow at the nocking point, eyes focused on where she will hit, walking towards a spot which makes a good aim. She ceased once she was beside Zazie, which was luckily a space big enough to shoot. Zazie watched her as she stretched the string, hands firm on the grip, and released after a few seconds.

The gaichuu then followed after the arrow, lured by its heart, then eating it, it's back facing them. Zazie then smirked and aimed his gun at its wings, hands firm on the grip and annoyance evident in his visage. After waiting for the perfect moment to shoot, he finally pulled the trigger, shouting: "Aotoge!" as a single then multiple royal blue rays flew from his shindanjuu, fragments of heart trailing from it, aiming at the wing. When it finally hit, the ladybug-like wings then flapped open, revealing its true gap. He faced Emi, "Shoot now! There's no time to waste!" He demanded, adrenaline rushing through his veins, spreading like wildfire, as he impatiently waited for Emi to shoot.

When she finally did—the arrow being released quickly and boring into the gap just as rapidly—they both watched as the gaichuu's insides became a very bright white light, a signal that it was about to burst into thirty pieces. Silently watching it glow more and more as he planted his hand holding the shindanjuu on his shoulder, he sighed from his nose as he kept his features impassive. It finally burst—the pieces flying in the air and landing on the ground, as fragments of heart floated about.

The ether was filled with nothing but silence as the fragments slowly disappeared, one by one, with Zazie still absent-mindedly staring at the place where the gaichuu used to be in. Nothing filled his mind yet he felt so burdened yet he couldn't put his finger on what it was. It was unexplainable yet he knew that he was feeling it. Like the feeling of staring at a word for so long it looked wrong or sounded wrong when pronounced yet it was right all the time. It was undecipherable.

He then blinked once he felt Wasiolka by his leg, waking him up from his stupor. Smiling at her then turning to Emi, he found that she too was rather absent-minded as she merely kept staring at thin air, eyes looking far ahead. He silently chuckled, lips forming a lopsided smile afterwards as he kept his eyes glued at her. He caught her attention since she blinked and faced him, curiosity etched on her face. "It's time to go, airhead." He said in a matter-of-factly, then started to walk towards home, Emi following suit.

As they traveled, only one thing remained in Zazie's mind: the play.

And he silently wished he wouldn't be a part of it.

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**A/N: **Lol plays do suck, aye? Yeah, like any other TB/LB fanfic here in FFN, there will yet again be a chapter with a freaking play. BUT SINCE ROMANCE PLAYS ARE TOO MAINSTREAM, MINE IS FREAKING ACTION! Oh yes! (No offense to writers who wrote romance plays, I love them but I think I need a twist now lol.) But Zazie still hates it so... ANYWAY, I know I've been gone for so long lol and here is what you get after I came back: a short chapter (for me). I hope you like it though.

Chapter 8 coming up sooner or later! Hard to come up with words and everything.

**R&amp;R!**


	8. Choose Me!

**Secrecy**

**A/N: **I was actually overwhelmed at the reviews I got regarding chapter seven. I didn't really know it was _that _good! I'm happy to know that you are starting to like my fanfiction and you must know I am now willing to finish this. Without school works and other things, this would surely have almost regular updates. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one! Romance is starting to bloom.

**WARNING: **May contain curses. This is a ZaziexOC pairing.

**DISCLAIMER: **_Kleia does not own Letter Bee—only her OCs._

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**CHAPTER EIGHT – Choose Me!**

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By the time they both arrived at the Hive, Emi never felt so exhausted. The kind of enervate brought after weeks or months' worth of walking or working very hard it was impossible to sleep at night because of it. What she most wanted though, was to be alone. To her, solitary is permanent freedom. One could say that talking to others after work is freedom, but one could feel true freedom at being alone—that was her motto.

But what she wanted the most was contrasted because of Mia and Sylvette, who immediately ran up to them as soon as they were in sight. She could tell that she and Zazie looked like a deer caught in the headlights when the two girls came up to them. Although wanting to be alone so badly, she fought the urge to shove them away and proceed to a place where no one could ever find her.

"Zazie! Emi!" Sylvette shouted as she sprinted toward them, Mia beside her. Alongside her, Emi heard Zazie snort. "Welcome back! We have news~" Sylvette said dearly as she locked her arms with Emi's cheerfully, her smile covering most of her face. She and Zazie looked at her questioningly as she blinked at them. "I'm not sure if it's good or bad… but here's the thing," she began, and Emi mostly predicted it would bad for both her and Zazie, but good for them. She knew. "You two are part of the play! Lead roles!" She exclaimed, clasping both her hands as they were still linked with Emi's arms.

"What the hell?" Zazie asked in disbelief as Emi snapped her head at him, Sylvette tilting her head as their eyes met. "Sylvette, you know why I'm against this. Why am I always picked out for stupid plays?" He protested, making gestures with his hands which caught people's attention, judging by how silly it looked. Emi blinked as he ran a hand through his already messy hair. "Why can't you pick Lag? Or Connor? Maybe even fucking Moc will do!"

"Lag is too kind and wimpy for this role. Connor is too lazy. I hate Moc." Mia interrupted, monotonously explaining the whys of Zazie with high confidence as her emerald eyes pierced through his bronze ones. Emi couldn't understand why Zazie despised plays, not that she dislikes them too. At the corner of her eyes, she saw Mia eyeing her. She looked back, and threw her a questioning gaze. Mia grinned at her. "At least Emi isn't complaining."

Emi only avoided her gaze and nodded. She turned to face Sylvette, gently unwrapping Sylvette's arm from hers, her grey eyes never leaving her crystal blue ones. Sylvette eyed her questioningly, but Emi could see a tinge of hurt within. "Do you know where the library is?" She asked, turning her head to each and one of them, inwardly asking for an immediate answer.

Zazie nodded. "Just head up, make a right and go straight ahead. Third door on the left." He informed, earning a nod from Emi, who slowly turned her back from them and made her way.

She sighed from her nose, her ears perking up when she heard Mia ask: "What's with her?"

"She's just…" Zazie answered, but Emi decided to block it out from her sense of hearing. She didn't want to get into their business, even if it involves her. She didn't want to know what Zazie would say. She didn't want to know their reactions. She wanted to be alone.

Once she was about to open the doors to the Hive, Hiro suddenly came out, irritation written all over his lineaments. Emi stood still in front of him, as she watched him calm down at the sight of her. His eyes never left hers and his lips slowly curved into a charming smile. She kept her face impassive as she slightly bowed her head and took a step forward. "Excuse—"

She was blocked by him. Instinctively, she tilted her head upwards, blinking at him. He still had his smile on his face, and she wondered why. Why does he keep making an effort to talk to her? To make her feel happy? Why is he kind to her? Why is he like Sylvette? The train of thoughts made her cringe mentally contrasting the stoic face she had on. Then her thoughts wondered to why he came barging out the Hive. But she knew it wasn't her business.

"Long time no see," Hiro greeted, breaking the ice between them. Emi only nodded and attempted to go past him, but she was obstructed yet again, much to her irritation. She threw away her whys about him and eyed him sternly, as if telepathically sending him a message to let her through. He was acting like a locked gate, and she doesn't have the key to let her in. And it irked her. She wanted to be alone, and this boy was abusing that desire. She could state all possible sentences that she could construct about Hiro, but she wanted to brush it off for now.

"Will you please move out of the way? I want to be alone." She said, avoiding his gaze since she knew her eyes were burning in annoyance. If playing nicely wouldn't work, she'd do it straightforwardly afterwards.

She felt him smirk, and it didn't help her at all. "What if I don't want to? And who would want to be alone in a day as nice as this?" He pointed out, looking over ahead him, smiling at the view, then looking back down at Emi, who plainly looked at him.

"What the hell are you doing, Hiro?" Emi knew it was Zazie. His voice was harsh, she noted, and she felt relieved with him stopping Hiro. She turned to see Zazie merely half a meter behind her, Mia and Sylvette watching closely behind. She could feel his warmth. The warmth of his breath. The warmth radiating from his body like a heater during the cold seasons. She felt comforted, yet her features said otherwise. Glancing up at his face, she saw what seemed to be the deadliest glare she had ever seen, piercing through Hiro like a broken shard of glass in his skin. But he wasn't bleeding or howling in pain. His bronze eyes flickered in anger, his cat-like slits narrowing.

Now that she thought about it, she never really noticed the stunning color of his eyes, sending shivers down her spine. She didn't pay attention to the rare cat-like slits as his pupils. That was why he looked feline. She blinked in realization, forgetting the rigid ether on both her sides. She kept her gaze on her hands.

"I was just talking to her. Got a problem?" Hiro countered, slightly raising his voice as he took a small step forward. Doing the same with Zazie, Emi looked up to see Hiro's usual soft brown eyes becoming stern and annoyed, his lips carved into a deep frown.

"That was like forcing her to talk to you," Zazie pointed out bluntly, eyes still glaring yet his lips slowly turning into a teasing smirk. Emi watched as he shoved his gloved hands in the pockets of his royal blue uniform, his look now impassive. She was amazed at how swiftly he changes his facial emotions. "Look, we're both tired from the stupid delivery and now, we also have a freaking play to deal with. She's tired and she wants to be alone. What's not clear about that?" He nonchalantly said, lightly shrugging just as well. Emi inwardly agreed, now looking over to Hiro.

He hesitated. His features were of stone. "Nothing. I just wanted to talk to her—"

Zazie chuckled bitterly, his canine teeth showing. "There's a time for that, dumbass." He pointed out, lowering his head, his bronze eyes still at Hiro's chocolate ones. They were gleaming in mischievousness.

"And there's a time for you to defend her." Hiro stated, causing Emi to snap her head at him. Admittedly, she felt nervous. She threw a glance at Zazie, who seemed to be unaffected by the comment. Noticing that he probably failed profusely, he adjusted his scarf, his chocolate orbs still aiming at Zazie.

"You don't make sense." Zazie reluctantly said, and Emi could hint how irritated he was. He was controlling himself. He didn't want to cause a commotion.

She didn't want to cause trouble, too. She glanced at the two boys, Mia, then at Sylvette. Then, slowly, like a snake crawling on the grass, she turned around and held the door knob—

"Emi! I hear you're the lead role in the play?" Hiro asked her, much to her annoyance.

She snapped her head at Hiro, before glancing at Zazie, who was looking at her as if urging her just go ahead and leave him, she decided to do the opposite and nod at his question. At the corners of her eyes, she could see Zazie practically shaking his head, in which she found amusing.

"Don't get your hopes up, I have the main role too." Zazie smirked.

She wasn't really expecting bold answers from the two Bees. Let alone a silent verbal only the three of them know. She stood like a statue in the middle of them. She was only a mere observer as she watched two people fight. She didn't even know how it happened or started. She couldn't care. She wanted to be alone, and that's that.

"What? I thought I told them that I'll be the lead!" Hiro exclaimed, causing Emi to slowly withdraw her head.

"I couldn't trust you, idiot. Besides, Zazie seems more suiting for the role than you." Mia countered from behind them, then proceeded to chatting with Sylvette happily. Emi blinked at her then proceeded to watch the fight go on.

"It isn't fair! We didn't vote for it or something! Or let Emi choose! That way, she'll be comfortable with who her partner is!" Hiro whined, comically flailing his arms in the air to express how he feels. Blinking, Emi eyed Hiro as he grinned at her. She mentally sighed at his decision and opened her mouth—

"Hell no, it's already settled. Emi will still choose me." Zazie confidently stated, proudly cocking his head up as he smirked mischievously.

Much to her shock, she felt Hiro grab her by the arm and yank her towards him. "How are you sure? She'll choose me! I'm _way _kinder than you, dumbass!" Hiro protested, now wrapping his arm around her shoulders. ("Hey...!" Zazie muttered in an angry tone of voice, fists tightening animatedly.) She felt uncomfortable and was attempting to break free from his firm grasp when Zazie grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him.

"What the hell are you saying? Let's leave him alone and go…" Zazie exasperatedly said, glaring at him as he grabbed the handle of the door. ("Wha—hey! Damn you!" Hiro exclaimed in the background, glaring at Zazie.) He was halfway in opening it when Emi felt another hand on her other wrist, pulling her in the opposite direction. She lightly gasped and turned to Hiro, who eyed Zazie irately. She felt confused as to what to do and what the situation was about, and Mia and Sylvette only stood behind them, watching the scene in admiration as the two boys continued on fighting. She inwardly sighed.

She blinked and slightly yelped when they simultaneously exclaimed: "_It's me right_? You're gonna choose me as your partner, right?" To her, it felt like they towered over her, their eyes like an owl's, never blinking as they continued to stare into her grey ones. The ether was stiff and intense. It was silent and her eyes kept on traveling from Hiro to Zazie. It never ended. She felt sweat trickle down her temples in anxiety. Her heart raced and she felt her breathing hasten. What was this, she didn't know.

She glanced back at Sylvette, who was taking a small step toward her, concern written all over her face. As well as Mia.

But she decided to escape. She didn't know what to do she didn't know why she was making this a big deal she didn't know why they were like that. And with that, she pushed through them, opened the handles in haste, her fingers trembling, and she got in. She jogged towards the library. She didn't want to be found. She wanted to be safe and alone, even for just a little while. So she left them.

* * *

**A/N: **Trust me, I didn't know why/how I inserted a pointless argument here. Hiro's comebacks were very hard to think of since's he's the stupid one in the argument. Anyway, I found it cute nonetheless. Oh, sorry if this chapter isn't as good. I felt the need to update though I also felt lazy. I had the ideas in my mind and I didn't want to forget them so yeah. Hope you liked this!

If you have any thoughts, just review or PM me. I wouldn't mind much.


	9. Embarrassment

**Secrecy**

**A/N: **BELATED MERRY CHRISTMAS/HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! I don't even know if Christmas could have a 'belated' with it, but I'll go with it. Sorry for not being online for some time now. Though on my break, I still had group meetings with my classmates and stuff. And I've been getting addicted to Harvest Moon stories. Deym. Plus, I think I'll experiment on my writing—I think it needs some salt and pepper, don't you think? (Well, I'm quite a perfectionist, but struggling to control it.)

**WARNING: **May contain curses.

**DISCLAIMER: **_Kleia does not own Letter Bee—only her OCs._

* * *

**Chapter Nine – Embarrassment**

* * *

Zazie knew he was thought to be weird and annoyingly defensive. And it was all thanks to the stupid chestnut boy beside him.

He really wasn't the type of person to fight over someone, let alone a girl. But the time was calling for it. And Hiro was _that _senseless. Zazie felt himself cringe at what goes on in that boy's mind. It wouldn't even be working, for crying out loud. Zazie knows in himself that he wasn't a prodigy or some genius who knows everything and how it works, but the average amount of common sense and knowledge in him sufficed. It could even last him a lifetime.

But Hiro was different in a way that is very annoying and intolerable. Period. He was a nutcase, and that was the irritating fact about him. And more. There was definitely more to come, but he didn't want to see for himself. He didn't even know if that boy had some sense in him judging by what he'd done to Emi.

The moment Emi disappeared from their field of vision, entering the twin doors that separated them from the Hive, two things popped up in Zazie's mind: one, he was chagrinned because of what he'd done, and two, Hiro is mostly to blame for it.

_Whatever, _he thought, mentally shaking his head, dismissing the thought of the irritating Hiro. _I'd waste my time trying to correct his actions that have already been done. _He clinched, now heaving a profound sigh, letting out his heaviness of his body due to his thoughts. _Stupidity really has no bounds_, he added, shutting his eyes for a second before opening them once again, looking to his left to find Hiro out of sight. _I really shouldn't mind. Let him do his stupid ways, I don't care. _He exhaled once more before pushing the doors to the Hive open, being greeted by the taste of cold air, which he was accustomed to. Amberground didn't do much heat, so people have been used to the arctic weather since.

Walking toward the Director's office to report of his delivery with Emi, he never gave thought of what had happened. If Sylvette and the black-haired girl—he haven't known of her name yet— thought of different things, he cared less. He did what he could and that was that. He simply despised stupid people. People like Hiro. Emi, despite her quietness around people, probably experienced something like him. Or was this just his sudden obligation to not let Hiro's stupidity affect her as well? He wouldn't know. They are friends and that's that. No gray's or middle ground, no spaces in between. Just black and white, and things divided fully. He knew how to separate the world into those options.

And thinking defensively of, he had two options to choose from a while ago, and clearly, he chose the most engaging: save Emi from the stupid person. So he did. No second thoughts or counters. He did what he had to do, and didn't care of the consequence. Consequence was: he developed some sort of disinclination towards Hiro. He inwardly shrugged. Emi most probably felt the same way too, considering her face when talking to him. Apparently, she wasn't pleased with his attitude of being too outgoing. He interiorly sneered.

Terminating himself of his train of thoughts, he knocked on the Director's door thrice before slowly opening it, removing his cap and planting it over his diaphragm. "I've a report to make about our delivery." He firmly said as Largo's and Aria's questioning faces welcomed him as he strode towards his desk, stopping a meter away. "All—"

"Where might your partner-in-crime be, Letter Bee Zazie?" Aria inquired, her emerald eyes piercing through his soul, yet he looked as if he hadn't been wounded by her vicious stare.

"She's probably resting. We had a long day." He answered, blinking as he did so, rather hazily. Bricks were resting atop his eyes and mist covered his vision. His breathing was deep and heavy, as if something was blocking his airway. He rather felt like he was carrying a boulder, when it was just his cap. Fatigue was slowly devouring him and he was in need for sleep. A profound sleep. A sleep that would bring him to his nirvana—a place only he knows. "… Anyway," he continued, his voice becoming deeper and hoarse. "All letters have been delivered safely to their recipients." He said in a kind of slowness that wasn't of precaution but was of grogginess. He blinked slowly and eyed the two in front of him in boredom and sleepiness.

Aria gave him a look of displeasure, frowning. "Letter Bee Za—"

"You are dismissed. Thank you. Now go and have a day's rest." Largo smiled, his large hands clasped in front of him on his desk, as smoke traveled upward from his pipe. Zazie simply stared at him. Largo raised a brow as his glasses glinted in the light, his lips in a lopsided smile. "You're tired, are you not?" He said in a dismissive tone, and nodded to usher him out of the room.

Zazie nodded and turned his back with relief, and exited the room, instantly hearing Aria snap at the director. He looked at the twin doors and shook his head, sighing at the process. He put his cap back on and shoved his hands in his uniform pockets, turning his head side to side, as if checking if the coast was clear. When it was, he strolled toward the grand staircase, abruptly stopping at his first stop down. His head turned to where the library was. _I wonder if she sneaked out by now…? _He asked himself, glancing at Wasiolka to see her gazing at the same direction as him.

He shrugged. "Eh, it can't be helped, Wasiolka." He nonchalantly said as he continued his way down, Wasiolka tailing behind him, professionally climbing down the stairs. _Shiro is with her, it'll watch over her, no doubt, _he thought as he stared at his feet alternately stepping forward. _But I'm still a little worried… _He frowned at his thoughts. _She's been acting weird lately. Quieter. She thinks a lot more too. Something must be going on. _He sighed through his nose as his scowl deepened. _Maybe Lag or Sylvette knows about this. I should ask them…_

Upon arriving at the door that serves as his exit, it suddenly burst open, revealing Connor, unfortunately. His hunched shoulders—showing slight hope—reluctantly fell and his buoyant features changed into his usual stoic one, with little interest. "Ah, Connor." He greeted monotonously, eyeing him. Connor, meanwhile, regained his breath as he carried Gus on his back. Drops of sweat trickled down his temples and cheeks despite the cool weather. His face showed apparent exhaust and difficulty as he panted.

Zazie faintly tilted his head to the side as he kept on watching Connor regain composure. "How's your delivery? Had a rush?" He questioned, earning a lousy nod from Connor.

"I think Gus gained weight." He reasoned, glancing behind him, at his dingo, who simply wagged its tail, unaware of what was happening. Zazie raised a brow as he comically frowned lopsidedly, a sweat-drop on his head. Connor then stood up straight, a smile on his face. "By the way, the delivery was great! The town gave me lots of free food," he said, his face suddenly becoming animated. Zazie knew he was fantasizing about the food he ate. And he swore he saw sparkles. He inwardly shook his head.

Zazie lightly perked up at the sudden image of Lag. "Ah! Connor," a distracted face now turned into an attentive one, "have you seen Lag around?" he asked, shifting his foot's weight on his other one, eyebrows still raised. "I have to ask him something…" he added, eyes stuck on the floor, as if the luster attracted his bronze orbs. He once again looked at Connor, who seemed to be in weighty thought.

"No…" he dubiously said, his head lightly cocked upwards, showing his deep thinking. "I think he's still on his delivery with Niche. Why?"

Zazie's current frown deepened even more at the news. "Ah." He grumbled and planned to not answer Connor's question. "Thanks. I have to go now." He said, a yawn escaping his lips.

Without another second passing by, he walked past Connor, keeping his pace even so as not to be noticed how he was rushing to get out of the Hive. Sleep was taking over his being. His footsteps were heavy and his head light. He felt so deranged and he was still figuring out why. Hands in his uniform pockets, a habitual act, he slowly blinked as he tried to keep his visualization straight while walking down the streets of Central Yuusari. Another yawn broke free from his lips, as if caged for years. His mind was empty of thoughts as people passed by him. Walking in no other direction but straight, he felt invisible to the crowd.

Seeing the familiar street of Sylvette, which was still seeming abandoned, relief flooded his entire body. He fastened his walking pace for a while, reducing it just as well. A weak gust disheveled his hair after he removed his cap. His head felt cool. He sighed through his nose as he remained his grip on his hat. He ruffled his hair as he was nearing Sylvette's abode. Ask her. He'll ask her then he'll leave.

He thumped on the door. It opened, revealing Sylvette, who had her azure eyes focused on him, slightly widening. "Zazie…! What brings you here?"

He ran a hand through his hair, avoiding her eyes for a moment. He put his hat back on. "Sylvette, is Emi there?" His bronze eyes traveled from the wall to her sea-blue ones, which showed slight shock and curiosity.

"Why?" She slowly asked, causing Zazie to raise a brow as he felt roses tinting his cheeks.

He stumbled over his words and came with a reply of: "Just answer me!" He exclaimed yet he kept his voice low, as his eyebrows furrowed and lips curved into a frown. He didn't like how she teased him with other girls. He knows she knows he isn't interested in women. Yet she was simply stubborn a girl. He scowled, seeing Sylvette's mocking face. He instantly faced away in slight embarrassment.

Girls were always such a handful to him. Maybe even the flirtiest guy in Amberground would admit that. He'd never know what goes on in their head, but he didn't want to, in any way. Probably it'll be filled with things about boys—who's dreamier than who, who they like, what they like about boys. He overheard that kind of conversation between girls around the corners and streets of Yuusari almost every day while walking towards the Hive. And he's pretty sure that's the only thing that revolves around their thoughts.

To hell with what girls think. It's none of his concern anyway.

Sylvette giggled, cutting him off his thoughts. "She isn't home, since that incident." Her bantering tone was increasing. And after a moment of pregnant silence, she grinned mischievously. "Hey, tell me, why were you so defensive of her?"

He flushed as he shoved his hands deeper into his pocket, his knuckles hard against the thick cloth. "Stop it! It's not what you think…!" He exclaimed, turning his head away from Sylvette as he shut his eyes and scowled. He brought his index finger to the bottom of his nose and rubbed it, glaring at the empty street in sheer embarrassment. He still felt warm, and it wasn't a good sign.

He exasperatedly sighed. "A woman..." He started, looking up in the air. "She told me to take care of Emi... I don't remember what I said, but this is the least I can do."* He reasoned, remembering the gentle contours of the woman he met days ago.

It wasn't like he really wanted to be Emi's dingo or guardian of some sort. And it wasn't really like he was defensive of her that he would fight Hiro over it. (That boy even said he was way nicer than Zazie was. The nerve.) He was just following orders and that was that.

Sylvette suddenly burst into a fit of giggles. He mumbled incohorently, and the words "girls" and "weird" are in between them.

He and Sylvette have known each other even before Lag became a Bee. He discerns that Sylvette has a fetish for romance, love, and any words connected to it. (He'd guessed that most girls have that kind of obsession.) She'd even talk to him about it even though he has no clue in what she was jabbering on and on about, her face dreamy as she looked up in the air, probably imagining things he didn't know about. He considered it gibberish, but he had to be patient with her still—Sylvette was considered a friend, after all.

But he didn't expect that Sylvette Suede—a girl who was two years younger than him, a girl who was always so addicted to love—would get to the point of teasing him and sending him mischievous grins as she teases him about Emi Hunter—a girl who was as silent as a ghost town—even though he wasn't engrossed. Girls confuse him too much.

After Sylvette's round of soft giggles, he sighed in annoyance once more. "Emi has been different lately." He suddenly said, a soft breeze caressing his pensive contours. The thought has been bugging him ever since he had noticed Emi's silence which grew worse. His cream scarf danced along the wind. It slightly cooled his neck, which was damp with perspiration. Sylvette had been hushed, and concern was roaming the area. "She seems to be more… silent."

"Isn't she like that all this time?" Sylvette asked. The worry was obvious in her voice.

He snapped his head at her, eyes impassive and lips pursed. "Yeah, but it became worse. Didn't you notice?" He earned a hesitant look. "She was still talking before. Even short sentences," he looked up at the sky. "Now, she won't speak even a word. Do you know what's been happening to her?" He once again turned to her, receiving a shake of the head from Sylvette. It was expected. Emi was too quiet anyway.

"Hey, Zazie," Sylvette called out, her voice suddenly sounding quite familiar to him. He blinked at her. She smiled a small one. "… Do you like her?"

He grumbled and shut his eyes. "Didn't I tell you to stop?" He protested, but he knew that his cheeks were on fire. Sweat was trickling down his neck, back, and chest, but he decided to ignore it. He heaved out a heavy sigh and planted his palm on his eyes. "Anyway, just—just tell her that what I did was…" he paused, thinking of an appropriate word to describe his actions. "Weird." He ran his hand through his face in mortification. "And that I'm sorry. Good night."

He didn't spare a glance at Sylvette in fear of seeing her teasing face. He pursed his lips and went off.

He was so embarrassed he wanted the artificial sun to swallow him up and eat all his heart.

* * *

Emi woke up with a sharp gasp, sweat cascading down her temples as her hair fell over her shoulders. She looked all over the place, and was relieved that she was still in the library. It was humid, but maybe it was because of her constant perspiring. She turned to Shiro, who gazed at her alarmingly. She sighed, and slowly stood up, cautious enough to not make a loud sound. The chair squeaked as she pushed it back with the back of her knees, her hands on the table supporting her weight.

She fixed herself once she stood straight—running her hands through her clothes, smoothing out the wrinkles. She then silently stretched, joints popping as she did so. Subsequently, Emi glanced at Shiro and nodded as a hint. Emi walked towards the door, Shiro tailing after her. She looked back to find the librarian focused on a book, but as their eyes met, Emi nodded at her, earning an inexpressive wave from the lady.

As she exited the library, Emi strolled towards the stairs, trying not to be as headlong. How many minutes has she been in there? Probably it was an hour. She exhaled, exhaustion getting the best of her. She strangely woke up with something weighing her down, though she couldn't point her finger to what it was. She remembered her sweating, and outlandishly, she mildly woke up to tears streaming down her nose bridge, to her other cheek. And she slept again. Then she woke up with a strident wheeze. Just what happened to her that she slept that peculiarly? Her slumbers were always an ocean. Deep and calm. No disturbances.

The cool breeze nipped on her skin as she continued to amble to Sylvette's house. Her hair flew backwards and she closed her eyes for a second, opening them just as well. Her mind kept on wandering off to her strange sleep not long ago. She did get her deserved forty winks, what with all the walking she and Zazie did for hours on end. But what caught her attention was the faces she saw in her dream. She didn't know who those people were, nor did she know what their purposes were.

Their contours were vague, and were as blurred as the view from a foggy window. She barely remembered what they did, but she tried not to. A shiver ran down her spine as she neared her destination. Perhaps it was the cold gust that blew against her, or maybe it was the sight of the shadowy persons in her dream.

She exhaled, her eyes half-open as she stared at the paved ground. Emi confirmed that her mind was not functioning well—it bursts into millions of thoughts whenever it didn't need to or when she was dead-tired, and wouldn't do its thinking whenever she needed it to contemplate. She figured that maybe it was because she was exhausted, or perhaps her mind was just too lazy to even do its work.

Escaping another sigh out her mouth, her hand slowly traveled towards the door of her temporary shelter. She was glad that Lag was kind enough to offer her a room, even though her attitude probably made him uncomfortable. She planted her hand on her forearm, rubbing it in the process. She felt so rough—she _was _rough. Maybe she should take a chance and try to escape her own little world—her world wherein she's so used to being alone and quiet, never really telling everyone her own feelings and problems.

Emi sighed, her gloved hand fisted against the wooden door. Another lenient breeze blew against her, nipping on her skin. Realizing that all she was doing was wasting her time outdoors, making herself feel colder and colder—despite the warm and thick clothes she was clad in—so she fixed her fist and knocked politely on the door before gently opening it, letting herself in.

"I'm home," she said, trying hard enough to make her voice seem louder. She removed her hat, scarf, gloves, and blazer one by one and placed it on the coat rack neatly. (Sylvette and Lag had insisted she could use it freely.)

Emi wasn't really fond of her own voice, though her mother used to say it was all right. She didn't know what made her think that, but she just wasn't in favor of how it sounded like. It has an unexplainable tone or pitch that made it sound so strange to her. She knew in herself that she spoke duly, with a hint of dispassion in it. She rarely changes how she speaks, she noticed. She doesn't sound so sprightly when she is, nor does she sound torpid when her mood is.

"Welcome back, Emi!" Sylvette energetically called out from the kitchen, probably preparing their dinner. Sylvette was always a cheery person. It was like she never gets dissuaded, but Emi knew it was impossible. Everyone gets sad every now and then.

The familiar scent of the everyday soup filled the ether as Emi walked in the kitchen, with Sylvette's back turned against her as she stirred in a pot, tasting it and humming in satisfaction. She scuttled behind Sylvette, who didn't seem to notice she was there.

"Let me—" She began, only to be interrupted by Sylvette's high-pitched shriek, which caused Emi to lowly squeak and blinked curiously at her as Sylvette comically trembled. "—help you…?" She continued. She eyed Sylvette in apology. "Sorry about that…"

Sylvette beamed at her. "I-it's okay! Of course you can help me," she paused for a while, as if thinking about what Emi could to do help. "Ah, here," she presented her a chopping board, a cutting knife, and fresh carrots. "You can mince us some carrots. You _do _know how to do it, right?" Sylvette asked, earning a nod from Emi as she gently took it from Sylvette's hand, bringing it to the dining table and laying it just as gently as holding something fragile.

She sat herself down the wooden chair and immediately engaged herself in her chore. As a child, Emi knew her way around household chores, especially in cooking. Her mother often told her that she needed to know the basic things in household living, so when she grows up, she won't be as dependent anymore. All she'd really paid attention to was how to mince, dice, and chop food accurately, how to sweep floors and wash dishes unlike the other kids who play all day long. She did have her fair share in playing, and doing whatever she'd like to do, but it was limited.

_At least I know how to handle things around the house, _she thought gratefully, carefully eyeing her hand as it prudently minced the carrot. She wasn't as fast and professional as chefs, but this average speed would do her good—

"Thank you for your help, Emi," Sylvette suddenly said, breaking the comfortable silence between them.

Emi glanced at her before returning her gaze to her hand. "You're welcome. I have nothing to do, anyway," she said, slightly surprised she said more. She inwardly sighed. Maybe trying to change was hard.

Sylvette softly giggled as she threw in some vegetables in the pot, stirring it after. "Ah, Emi," she called, causing Emi to mumble a (hopefully) loud 'Hm?' "Zazie came here earlier. He was looking for you, actually," she said, slight fondness creeping in her tone.

Emi stopped in what she was doing and looked up at Sylvette in surprise. She knew Sylvette wouldn't see her, so she picked on what she would say and came up with: "Ah, he did?" She looked down, her heart strangely fluttered. _Why would he want to see me? _She asked herself, turning to the half-minced carrot in front of her.

"Yeah. He wanted to say sorry because what he did was 'weird', according to him. He's amusing, really." she endearingly said as she minced another round of vegetables. She chuckled, "I, for one, think what he did was bold and cute. Don't you think so, too?" She pointed out. Emi looked up to see Sylvette looking at her, smiling dotingly. Emi simply felt herself being filled with roses, her lips slightly ajar due to spacing out.

Emi snapped out of her thoughts and looked everywhere. "—Um…" She sheepishly began, her words evaporating in her mind. Knowing that she had nothing more to say, she decided to heave a sigh, in which rendered her surprised as she found it impolite. "A-ah, sorry…" she found herself saying as she sat up straight.

"No, it's all right." Sylvette said as she walked towards the chair in front of Emi and sat down. She planted both her elbows on the table and folded them, smiling at Emi. "You seem bothered. What's wrong?" She asked in a soft voice which Emi found comforting.

Emi blinked curiously. "I—that's…" she spluttered. She was hopeless.

So she gave up. She couldn't hold it in.

The weight on her body caused her to abruptly lay her cheek on the table, earning a surprised 'eh?' from Sylvette. She insouciantly and slowly blinked her eyes at the kitchen just beside her. Another sigh escaped her lips as she folded her arms under her head. "You know, I feel like my mind is about to burst. A lot has been happening and I don't even get a single thing…! It's like everything just suddenly pops up right in front of me without me knowing." She explained, her eyes fluttering closed. "I'm not really used to things like these. It's exhausting." Emi added, her eyes slowly opening as she propped herself up, aware of Sylvette's curious look. She suddenly felt embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I just—"

Sylvette smiled. "It's okay, I understand," she said, "thanks for telling me this, Emi. I'm really glad, you know?"

Emi didn't know how the words slipped out, but she was glad. She felt light. Telling other people how she feels wasn't her forte, because she found it hard to let it out rather than keeping it in.

"Th-thanks, too…" Emi stammered, bringing her head on top of her crossed arms. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"Don't you think it's because of what happened earlier?" Sylvette suddenly asked, causing Emi to peek at her and shift her look at the details of the wooden table, as her finger traced random lines and shapes on the smooth wood.

"I don't even know…" she dubiously said, her voice soft and filled with air.

"Hm," Sylvette hummed. Emi remained motionless. "Maybe a nap will relax you. I'll wake you up when dinner's ready." She suggested, causing Emi to sit up straight and eye her. She nodded and slowly stood up along with Sylvette.

When Emi was about to walk towards the stairs, Sylvette called for her and said: "A few pinches of salt and pepper, right? In my soup, I mean." She asked, striding towards the pot. Emi nodded just as Sylvette turned her head to look for answers. She beamed. "All right, thanks. Now go and take your sleep. I'll wait for Lag here, too."

Emi nodded and trudged to the stairs. Planting a heavy hand on the rail, she—

"Oh, Emi, wait!" Sylvette called out once again, causing Emi to blink and peek over the wall to see Sylvette's back turned against her.

"… What is it?" She asked in a voice that was soft yet audible.

Sylvette turned around, her azure eyes meeting Emi's gray ones as she smiled softly. "Zazie also told me to tell you," she paused, giggling. Emi blinked as she leaned herself more on the wall, anticipating what Sylvette wanted to say next. "He wanted to tell you 'good night.'"

"O-oh," She started. "Thanks. I'll go up now."

So she did, feeling indifferent as she slept her exhaustion away.

* * *

**A/N: **I also wish everyone a Happy New Year! I may be days early, but it's better than nothing. I have one week left before school starts once again. And I'm not thrilled about the new school works I'll receive in the future. (Also about hearing my exam results...)

Anyway, I think my style had changed over the days. I inserted some things about Zazie and Emi and how they feel about things too, so that maybe you'll get to know them better. As for Emi, I hope I hadn't made her life so ruined. I also decided she'll open up now, even though it's only the ninth chapter. (I think it's too soon, though...) Of course she'll only open up towards Sylvette, then it'll progress further.

I also hope that you liked it! :) Again, Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!~

"She told me to take care of Emi... I don't remember what I said, but this is the least I can do."* – Chapter One, everyone! Figured that Zazie wouldn't randomly be defensive and fight over Emi and such, so I gave him reasons for it. :)

Did I cover everything? If you have any suggestions, comments, feedback or critiques, feel free to PM me! I won't bite!

R&amp;R!


	10. Zazie

**Secrecy**

**Chapter Ten – Zazie**

**WARNING: **May contain curses.

**DISCLAIMER: **_Kleia does not own Letter Bee—only her OCs._

* * *

"No no no, try adding more emotion. And make your voice louder. And be more happy and kind and not emotionless." Mia instructed, her eyes gleaming in frustration as she waved her arms around, her hand holding the script for the play they were practicing.

The Hive defined its name as Bees were scattered around the workplace, streamers and other decorations in hand—it was, indeed, swarming with busy Bees. Whilst the speedy decorating of the place, the ones who were chosen to participate in the play were practicing their roles, and unfortunately, Emi was forced to be someone she wasn't. She could also tell that Zazie didn't like what he was doing as well. All he did all day was grunt and frown and scoff and be alone. Not even Sylvette nor Connor went a meter near him.

"But it's hard," Emi explained, a tad tired from all the acting she had done. She eyed her script once again. She was supposed to act like a bubbly and kind girl that everyone loves. And it was incredibly hard for her personality. She knew she wasn't the type to smile at every moment, and she knew more that she doesn't go around energetically either. Acting about it made it even worse. She kept in a sigh.

She felt Mia's eyes on her. "But maybe you should try. Smiling and being energetic, I mean. It gets kinda annoying when you're so gloomy and emotionless the whole day, you know." Mia bluntly said with a frown as she pursed her lips afterward. Emi just eyed her and nodded. She knew how people disliked people who don't smile so often, that was why some of the outcasts were gloomy and lonely people. But she couldn't force herself to be someone else. Smiling isn't something she does so often. She couldn't even imagine herself smiling.

"Let's practice," Mia suddenly said, snapping Emi out of her reverie about smiling. She snapped her pair of gray eyes on Mia's emerald ones. "I mean… let's practice _smiling_. You need it in life, one way or another. So let's do this." She sternly said. "Put away your script for a while. We won't practice your lines unless you get your smiling checked." Mia instructed, nodding her head to the script in Emi's hand. "Put it away." She ordered, hands on her hips. Emi meanwhile obeyed and walked to the nearest place she could place her script on, and when she did, she instantly strolled back to where Mia was.

"Okay, so," Mia began once Emi was a meter away from her. "Try stretching your lips like this," she inculcated, her index finger pointing to her lips as they curved upward in a usual small smile. "We're gonna practice smiling without teeth." She added as she nodded at Emi, signaling that it was her turn to try grinning.

Emi coached her brain to work her lip muscles and stretch them like how Mia stretched hers—and she felt her lips slowly and awkwardly curving upward in an attempt to smile, but she felt like a perverted girl who wanted to kill an innocent kid. Albeit the strong urge to bring her lips back to normal, she knew Mia wasn't satisfied, because she was simply pursing her lips and staring at her, slightly shaking her head.

Mia then slightly brought her head forward and once again pointed at her lips, stretching them even more upwards. "Like this, like this," she said, her voice seemed to be frustrated. "Think of happy thoughts. Anything funny." Emi then played with her lips for a short while, she thought of happy memories and funny moments with her mother and herself, and she finally felt her muscles work on their own as the curved upward, hopefully forming what seemed to be a genuine smile after a long while. She felt a sense of accomplishment rush through her veins.

"_Yes_! That's it! Okay we're done so go call cat boy over there." Mia said in an obvious rush, motioning her head towards Zazie, who apparently looked as if he didn't want to be in the Hive all day—sitting on a random chair, chin in the palm of his hand as his eyes looked on beyond what they all see. Emi found herself strolling to where he was blankly, her smile gone.

"Zazie," Emi called out once she knew she was in a safe distance away from Zazie. An audible 'hm?' escaped from his closed lips as he turned his head to where Emi stood, features showing apparent curiosity and annoyance, eyes gleaming in an uninterested shine. "Mia's calling for you… it's your time to practice now." She indifferently said, and watched Zazie scowl and stand up, walking over to where Mia was waiting, not even acknowledging her presence. Her eyes followed his retreating back, and she thought about how Zazie seemed to act like a cat.

Physically, he looked as if he was a cat reincarnated into a human—if that was possible. Pupils shaped like a cat's slits, and canine teeth that was formed to look like that of a cat's—who wouldn't think he looked feline? Plus, his behavior gave off points as well. How he was often moody and hard to get and mysterious in a way it all seemed so—

"Why the hell do I even need to act like this! It's freakin' pointless and stupid!" Zazie's comically enraged voice echoed throughout the halls, snapping Emi out of her thoughts as she turned to see what was happening between the two, seeing Zazie angrily throw the script away in a somewhat funny manner. ("It's not my fault." Mia nonchalantly said, shrugging casually as she eyed him coolly.) It was expected they'd get along poorly because of Mia's brusqueness and Zazie's short temper. ("What do you mean it's not your fault! It sure as hell is, you stupid woman!" he shouted, his back slightly arched forward as he gritted his teeth at Mia, who continued to eye him indifferently.)

"They're like cat and mouse, huh?" Sylvette said in a fond manner, causing Emi to turned her head to her, and glance at the two, who were still fighting. Emi blinked and continued to eye Zazie and Mia, and how uniquely they got along. Indeed, they were like cat and mouse. "How they fight… it brings a little life to the Hive, don't you think?" she added, and only then Emi noticed the small circle of Bees that gathered around them, laughing at Zazie's temper and hooting for Mia's logic and bluntness, though the latter didn't seem to care about the noises the other Bees made.

"I'm not here often, but I could tell how quiet the Hive was before. And with you new Bees," Emi whipped her head to Sylvette, who was eyeing her softly. "You brought a little energy here." She said, which caused Emi to simply nod and revert her attention back to the two. ("Alright, fine, I'll practice my stupid part…" Zazie said in defeat, back facing Mia, as he sheepishly lowered his hat to touch his shameful eyes, lips in a frustrated frown. "But just because you asked for it!" he added.)

"Sylvette," Emi called out, eyes still glued on Zazie and Mia. ("I didn't ask for anything…" Mia indifferently said. Her lips slowly curved into a grin. "But okay, let's practice!" she exclaimed.) "Why is Zazie acting so moody today?" she asked, without thinking better of it. "I mean, he's always moody. But… today…" she added, scrambling up her words. She decided to let Sylvette decipher what she meant.

"Zazie wasn't really fond of acting," Sylvette stated, her voice coated with fondness, it was hard to miss it. "But because he's always chosen for the lead roles every year, he couldn't escape from it. Sometimes I actually feel guilty for picking him, but we had a limited choice, and he was the best one. Or maybe we just didn't want to try another boy for the lead role…" She seemed sad now, Emi noted. "It's amazing this year, he managed to control his temper and calm down a bit."

This caught Emi's attention. She snapped her head to Sylvette, eyeing her curiously. "What do you mean?"

"In the previous years," Sylvette began, eyes glued on Zazie in a motherly sense. "Zazie dreaded acting that he had to stay in his house all day…! We even had to pull him out—literally, on the collar or both arms, just so he could come to the Hive and practice. We would always make a scene in front of the townsfolk during those days. It was actually worse than having to see Dr. Thunderland Jr." She stated, slightly giggling.

Emi threw her a baffled yet amused expression as she eyed Sylvette. She knew that—it was pretty obvious—that Zazie hated acting and plays. But she didn't know that he disliked it to the point of hiding in his house and being pulled out of it. It must've been humiliating—being dragged to the Hive with all the people staring at you in incredulity. The image of Zazie causing a tantrum and struggling against their grasps as they dragged him to the Hive suddenly popped in her mind, and a small smile made its way to her lips. It was amusing. She wished she was there during those days—

"Emi! Get over here please!" Mia's voice boomed across the room.

Emi snapped her head to where Mia was, and once again turned to look at Sylvette, who nodded at her—signaling that she should go. Emi then walked towards Mia and glanced at Zazie, who looked as though he wanted to be swallowed up the ground, one hand covering his face in what seemed to be embarrassment as his head was tilted upwards. Her grey eyes travelled to Mia, who had a small smirk plastered on her face. Emi blinked as she stopped an arm's length away from the two, silently asking what they needed from her.

"So I had a brilliant—"

"More like stupid…"

"Shut up Zazie," Mia quickly and sharply said, throwing him a glare filled with sharp knives and daggers. Her emerald orbs then traveled to Emi, and returned to its calm stare. "Anyway, I had a brilliant plan. At the end of the play, some random Bee would act as if she's lost because, you know," she wiggled her eyebrows at Emi, who nodded, knowing the gesture. "And you, as your role, will snatch her from behind, drag her towards the curtain, then someone will scream, then the end. In case you didn't get it, Zazie'll show you what you're supposed to do." She snapped her head to Zazie, who looked as if he wanted the ground to suck him up. "Zazie, will you please?"

Emi felt her heart in a sudden run as her eyes were glued to Zazie, whose cheeks were slowly being painted a lovely shade of pink in each passing second. His head was turned to the opposite direction as he closed his eyes tightly. "Why am I supposed to do it? You could do it yourself…" he sternly said, head still turned away from them.

"I thought you agreed to it." Mia bluntly said, folding her arms over her chest.

Zazie snapped his head at Mia, eyeing her with his deathly glare. "Alright fine, whatever! Let's just get this over with…" he agreed, in which his voice was filled with boredom and defeat, as his eyes began to once again avoid the eyes of Mia and Emi. After a moment of silence, Emi caught him glancing at Mia, then finally, his eyes landed on hers. For a split second. Then he faced ahead once again. She wondered what he was thinking about. He inhaled a deep breath, then he glanced at her once again. She felt her eyebrows raise.

"Don't freak out, okay? Or something…" He said, eyeing the floor. His eyebrows were narrowed slightly, and his nose was touching the tip of his scarf. Emi blinked. Was this his way of showing shyness? She found it quite endearing. In some way unexplainable.

"Okay, Emi, act like you're lost or looking for something." Mia ordered, smiling lightly at her.

Emi did what she was told. Acting wasn't her forte, but she tried her best to act as if she was lost in a world unknown to her. She looked to her left and right, eyes scanning the room rapidly, until she felt a hand on her right shoulder, and before she knew it, she was roughly being spun and pulled to somewhere she didn't know. It felt warm. It was breathing. Her hand was planted on something that felt like cloth. Then she felt something click inside of her—it was Zazie.

His breathing slightly warmed up the top of her head, his hand was still resting on her shoulder, his head was slightly tilted downwards and she could lightly feel his chin on her head. She felt roses slowly blooming on her cheeks. The vibration of his heartbeat was very faint, but she felt it nonetheless. It was calming—

"Alright that's enough, you two. It's taking too long," Mia interfered, in a tone that made Emi feel like she was being teased.

His hand was slowly removing itself from her shoulder, his chin and breathing and faint heartbeat disappeared, and Emi was already facing thin air. She looked up and found Zazie looking at her in a bored expression, but she never mistook the blush that painted his cheeks. He turned his head away from her and shoved his hands in his pockets. He's shy again.

"Zazie's got the hots today!" Mia teasingly exclaimed, causing Zazie to snap his head to her and throw her a menacing glare as a blush once again crept to his cheeks.

"Shut up!" Zazie exclaimed, aggravated at Mia's teasing. His shoulders were comically hunched forward and his eyes were shooting daggers at Mia, who was laughing evilly and uncontrollably. "We're done now, are we? I'm going home!" He shouted, turning his back and—

"You still have to fit your costumes!" Sylvette cried, walking briskly to his way.

Zazie snapped his head at Sylvette, eyebrows furrowed and eyes once again glaring. "To hell with costumes! I'm going home and none of you are going to stop me!" He finalized and once again turned on his heels and walked away—

"Oh so a little bit of _changes _in the script won't stop you?" Mia intervened, causing Zazie to stop in his tracks. Emi stared at his back, then at Mia, who was smirking evilly. "Like, romantic scenes?" She continued, and Zazie turned his head at the mischievous Mia, eyebrows comically twitching, much to Emi's confusion.

Zazie squinted his eyes at Mia. "What are you saying?"

Mia's smirk widened, and Emi simply stared at the two in confusion. "Oh, I'm just gonna add some parts where you'll do this—"

"Alright shut up, fool!" Zazie interrupted, slightly blushing. "I'll fit my stupid costume! There, happy?" he exclaimed, and Mia happily nodded at his answer.

* * *

Zazie was always someone who'd never change their mind on decisions. No means no, and yes is yes. Sure, he wasn't as heartless as to not change his decisions on something apparently important. But he didn't know just why he agreed to fit his costume just because Mia threatened him to do so. It wasn't like he wanted to try on his get-up to see what he'd look like, but it wasn't also like he wanted _some _new—not to mention romantic—scenes to their parts. It was none of both, yet here he is… grudgingly peeling off his uniform to try on his costume (which mainly consisted of ragged clothing).

"Gah! What am I even doing?" he muttered angrily to himself as he slipped on his dirty and ragged pants, teeth clenched and eyebrows furrowed.

He fooled around with the garter of his pants for a moment, lips carved into a frown as he did so. He then huffed, unconsciously shoving his hands to where his pockets were, but they just met in the middle of his tummy. He instantly looked down to find the dirty, ragged, and patched shirt he was wearing. "Damn it," he breathed, ruffling his disheveled auburn hair in frustration. He had an irresistible urge to punch something, but he tried his hardest to keep himself from doing so.

He released yet another frustrated cry as he ran a hand through his hair roughly. "Let's just get this damn thing over and done with." He sternly and dismissively said, finally stomping out of the room, lips pursed and eyes profoundly gazing at the floor as he walked past some Bees.

When he was sure he was in the right place, he ceased walking and waited for orders. As he stood by the tall window, still annoyed at his thoughts and emotions, he thought about his role, how he would do, why he even got the role, and the play and Emi. She was soft. And she smelled good. She smelled like a bunch of flowers combined with another round of different aromas he couldn't mention by name but even though, she smelled good and mild and it didn't make him wrinkle his nose. He felt like he was in a garden filled with different kinds of flowers. And she was soft. Were all girls that soft to hold? Whatever. It was none of his concern.

He thought about what she thought when he did what he was told to do. Did she hear how fast his heart was? Hopefully not. Why was it even beating so fast during that time anyway? He couldn't fathom how his emotions ran. This was one of the times he felt something in his heart other than malice, anger, or sadness. It was none of the three. It felt so new. Like how you try something you don't normally do and you find out you have a knack at doing it. That feeling that overwhelms your insides and eats all the negative feelings away and replaces it with something familiarly unfamiliar. What was that feeling anyway?

"Zazie!" Mia called out, snapping him out of his train of thoughts. His eyes traveled to hers. "Have you seen Emi? She's not in the dressing rooms!" she frantically asked, clearly because of the preparations for the play. He shook his head no. Mia looked at the floor forlornly. She then looked at him in a way that she pleaded. He was preparing himself.

"Could you please look for her?" she asked, to which he forcibly nodded to, in fear of threats and teases. She grinned. "Thanks! You'll find me everywhere when you do find her." And with that, she dashed off to a new place, much to Zazie's irritation.

He ruffled his hair for the umpteenth time this day and he turned his back and started walking to where he knew—and he was sure of it—Emi was, Wasiolka tailing behind him. Having his hands swaying on his sides was something he wasn't accustomed to, let alone how he was walking with a pair of slippers instead of his usual thick ankle shoes. His feet felt light and every step he took was like stepping on sponges. With only a ragged shirt and pants, he felt cool. No scarf around his neck, no thick blazer.

But his thoughts were spinning in his head, and he couldn't understand why. The feeling of aggression was rising up once again, it shot through all parts of his body. The tempting urge came back. In and out. It was like a door. And the knocking of that certain emotion was driving him crazy.

He pursed his lips as he fastened his pace to where Emi was. He didn't care how he looked he didn't care if people looked at him funny. All he cared about was that he needed to find Emi and take her to Mia. So he pushed his thoughts away and proceeded to the library.

Zazie arrived to his destination in a short amount of time since he locked all his thoughts away. He lightly sighed and planted his hand on the handle. On the other side is where Emi is. He turned the handle and peeked in. Once he saw the familiar shade of golden hair she possessed, he immediately stepped in silently and made his way to her. She was reading. It was obvious. He sneaked up behind her and tapped on her shoulder, watching her lightly jump on her seat and snap her head to him, to which he smirked at. She eyed him in slight irritation.

"Mia's looking for you. And how did you come here dressed in your costume?" he asked, his eyes scanning what she wore. It was probably from Sylvette's wardrobe. It was girly and short and it revealed a lot of her skin. He wasn't used to it.

"You came here dressed like me too." She innocently answered, pushing back her chair and slowly standing up, leaving the book on the table. _Unlike Mia, who always sounded so blunt when she says stuff, _Zazie thought as he watched her iron her skirt, _the way Emi says stuff is kinda innocent. _"You look…" he blinked and she titled her head lightly to the side. "Sad…? Annoyed…?" she primly and pointedly said. Well that caught him off-guard.

The moment he made eye contact with her innocent and curious eyes, he knew he was done for. He placed his hand on his eyes, keeping them from looking at her. He cocked his head upward. "It's just that…" he began, keeping in his irritation. "Ever since _that _happened, I've been getting pissed off at everything and because I couldn't understand why, I get pissed off even more!" he exclaimed, unaware that where they were required silence. Therefore, the librarian hushed them and continued on with her reading.

"That?" he heard her say. He still had his hand on his eyes yet he could feel the innocent obliviousness in her voice.

He nodded. "You know… the thing Mia made us do earlier."

"Oh," she said finally after a long moment of pause between them. He removed his hand from his eyes and looked at her. She was staring at the marbled floor. "You seem to have a lot of thoughts too." She said. _Too? _He questioned himself as he carried on eyeing her. "I feel like my mind is about to burst too." She admitted and he said nothing and did nothing but look at how sad and troubled she looked.

She then looked at him. "Sorry for saying something like that all of a sudden," she abruptly said, running her hand down her cheek.

"I'm not… really paying attention anyway," Zazie said suddenly, without thinking better of it. She blinked at him and then her eyes traveled down to the floor, looking sadder, which made him feel like a criminal. _That got her down, _he thought. "I mean… it's okay. You don't have to worry 'bout it." He said in a slightly audible voice. _That's not what I wanted to tell her… _he dejectedly thought.

"Zazie, you're nice." Emi suddenly said, and once again, it caught him off-guard.

He lightly perked up. "Wha-what're you saying? That doesn't make sense…" he said, his eyes darting around the room.

"No," he eyed her, "it makes sense. You're nice, Zazie." He observed how her eyes softened as she said those words.

He didn't know what to tell her, so he just said: "Le-let's just go find Mia…" and turned his back and started to walk towards the door. He felt something pang rapidly in his chest and despite his light and cool clothes, he felt warm. Roses were scattered on his cheeks and just everywhere around his body. _Damn what is this? _He thought to himself as he opened the door and closed it and discreetly waited for Emi by the door. Once he heard the handle turn, he instantly scrambled to his feet and didn't look back.

_You're nice, _those two words echoed inside his head. What's with that girl? Everything she says seems to always shock him. He couldn't predict her actions. Sometimes she talks, sometimes she doesn't. Sometimes she shows even a bit of emotion, and sometimes she's like a gaichuu—heartless. She's a hard nut to crack.

"By the way, why were you even in the—" he turned around and instantly, his words were cut off from his tongue. Emi lay on the floor unconscious. _Wha—how… she was still talking a while ago! _He exclaimed in his thoughts as he frantically rushed to her. His eyes were open wide and his eyebrows were creased in anxiety. "What the hell happened—" he planted his hand on her shoulder and he hissed as he jerked his hand away. He heard her faintly groan. "Ah shit you're burning! Why didn't you tell us you were sick? Ah never mind that I need to take you somewhere!" He said in a panic as he gently scooped her up from the cold floor and carried her bridal-style. "Where where where…" he muttered, turning his head to his left and right.

Then something clicked inside of him—he had to take her to that damn Thunderland Jr. The one who stole his cats away from him only to find out he was feeding them as well! That cruel doctor. Even though that happened, he will never forgive that sorry excuse for a doctor!

"Agh whatever! I'll just take you to him and it's done!" he exclaimed as he ran through the halls of the Hive. "Hang in there, you hear me, Emi?" he told her. It was a good thing that most of the Bees were busy helping in the preparation for the festival, and those who remained were out on deliveries. He didn't want to be seen in such a silly get-up.

It wasn't long before Zazie had spotted Hunt and ran up to him, panting as sweat trickled down his forehead, cheeks, and neck. (He hoped it didn't land on Emi.)

"Zazie!" he exclaimed, in an obvious shock. "Is she alright?" he asked, eyeing her with his mask that only covered his two eyes.

Zazie shook his head no. "She's sick and she just collapsed on the floor earlier." He informed, earning an understanding nod from the doctor's assistant. He eyed Emi and noticed how she was covered in sweat and that her cheeks were flaming.

"Follow me, we'll let her rest for a while." Hunt said and ushered Zazie to follow him. He'll probably take her to where they let him stay when he got injured because of the Abusa. "Maybe she's just too tired from all the tasks given to her. She's new to it after all." Hunt told him, to which he nodded to.

The trip to the room was a silent one. Neither of them talked nor started up a conversation. But Zazie liked it that way. He wasn't in the mood to talk. He felt too tired anyway. Hunt might also feel tired. Zazie didn't know much about Hunt. He thinks that most people feel the same too. Hunt was mysterious in a good way. And maybe his wife, Sarah, is the only one who solved his mystery. But at least both of them are living a peaceful life.

"We're here, Zazie," Hunt suddenly said, opening the door to a room where Emi could rest. Hunt opened the door wider and ushered Zazie in first, and when he was inside, Hunt stepped inside and gently closed the door. "Just place her on the bed. I'll call the doctor so he'll check up on her." A shiver ran through Zazie's spine at the mention of the doctor, but he shrugged it off and did what he was told do to. Hunt had left already, and it was just the two of them.

Zazie made sure Emi was lying in a comfortable position, and he planted a blanket on her. He then spotted a chair and carried it to the side of her bed. He sat on it and watched her sleep. It was nostalgic—like how he waited for his parents to wake up with a bowl of soup in hand. Only this time, it was certain she had a lot of heart in her, and that she was just slumbering. He planted his forearms on his knees and clasped them, getting a closer view of Emi.

He then slumped back to his seat, crossed his legs so that it formed a 4, placed his elbow on the armrest and laid his chin on the palm of his hand. He felt like he needed to do something. At least a small deed so that she'd heal quicker. And something lit up inside of him—Mana's aromatherapy. _Emi said she had a lot of things in mind, _he thought sharply as he stood up, _maybe Mana's aromas would help her. _And with that, he walked out of the room to go to the one and only aroma therapist of the Hive.

The journey to the Relaxation Lounge was a quick one as Zazie basically ran to go there. Now, he was standing in front of the door with his hand clenched against the smooth wood of the door. He released a breath and knocked thrice. He needn't to wait long before Mana showed up in front of him.

"… Zazie, what are you doing here?" she asked him as she gestured him to go in. When he did, she closed the door. "You smell like… sweat. Have you been running?"

Zazie had always admired Mana's sharp sense of smell and hearing. "Well, yeah, I was," he answered her, making his way to the supple sofa of the room. He couldn't even believe there was a sofa _that _soft. He reluctantly collapsed on it, lightly bouncing due to its softness. "Been practicing for the play for the incoming festival." He added, and he sniffed the relaxing air. "That smells good and relaxing…" he complimented, resting his arms on the top of the backrest of the sofa. Mana had always helped him in relaxing, just by entering the room after or before a delivery, all of his stress would be gone, and he would even think why he was so agitated in the first place anyway.

Mana smiled, her pink-tinted glasses shining against the light. "Why, thank you, Zazie. It's a new creation I just made."

"Ah, speaking of creation, Mana," he started, catching her attention. "Could you please make something for ease of thoughts and something that could easily heal sicknesses?" he requested, eyeing her curiously and pleadingly even though he knew she couldn't see.

"Oh, yes. Let me go get it." She said and headed off to a small room where she gets all her herbs and dried flowers for the aromas she makes.

Zazie took a deep breath of the soft yet minty smell of the potpourri, which was enveloping the whole room. He could fall asleep in no time. His eyelids already felt heavy, but he kept himself from taking forty winks. It just goes to show how Mana works wonders—her aromas always take effect, no matter what happens. It was a good thing they built this Relaxation Lounge too. He could relax and push away all of the thoughts which bothered him.

"Here it is, Zazie," Mana suddenly said, causing Zazie to spring up from his seat and take it from her as she presented it to him. It was already placed in a small container, and in it were different kinds of dried flowers and herbs. Zazie said his thanks, but he was reluctant to go, so he decided to stay for another minute or two. "May I ask what it's for? Or who?" she innocently asked in her prim voice.

"Ah it's for Emi," he answered, eyeing the potpourri in his hands. "She just got sick a while ago and she's resting now. She told me how full her mind was before that."

Mana smiled at him. "That's thoughtful. But who is this Emi?" she questioned, making her way to the sofa. She sat down and patted the space beside her, signaling Zazie to sit beside her. "Is she a new Bee?"

"Yeah," Zazie answered and sat down beside her, slumping on the backrest of the sofa. "She's really silent and she doesn't really show a lot of emotions." He continued.

"It's not normal for someone to not show any emotions. Maybe she does, but she doesn't do it in front of many people," Mana hypothesized, clasping her hands on her knees. ("… I guess…" Zazie dubiously answered.) "But Zazie, why are you doing this for her?" she asked, head faced ahead of her.

That caught his attention. _Why _is he doing this? Well he doesn't know. He's doing it as a friend—friends always help each other, right? But did Emi even help him in any way? Maybe during their long delivery. She helped him through listening to him. But maybe that's it.

"A woman told me during the Bee exams, after she signed Emi's recipient slip… she told me to take care of her," Zazie explained in a low voice, once again remembering the woman's gentle voice. He told this to Sylvette once, and he's starting to feel like he's lying though he doesn't know why. "I don't know why I'm following what she told me. I mean, who knows anyway… she might have sent some people to see if I really am taking care of Emi or something. I don't know!" irritation started to boil up inside of him. But he inhaled a deep breath and gritted his teeth. "I—I'm doing this… as her friend, too…" he quietly said.

His ears perked up once he heard a giggle escape Mana's lips. He snapped his head to her. "What?" he asked politely, but instead it came out sounding annoyed.

"Nothing, it's just," Mana said in between laughter, "you're kind, Zazie." She lovingly said, her laughter being replaced with a soft smile.

That got him. Once again, he felt himself getting warmer and warmer by the running seconds and he didn't know what to do and how to respond so he was forced to just sit still and he didn't say a thing. Not even a syllable. But then something clicked inside of him:

"I don't like her, okay!" he suddenly exclaimed, without thinking better of it. And instantly, he regretted it, because Mana started laughing once again. ("I wasn't saying anything!" she defended, struggling to die down her laughter.)

When she ceased laughing, Zazie said: "It's just that… I don't know! Maybe I kinda know how Emi feels deep inside…" he said. _I feel like my mind is about to burst too, _her words echoed in his head. "Emi and I… are kinda similar but we're both different too. I guess… that's how to put it." _Did that even make any sense?_ He asked himself, feeling embarrassed. Suddenly, he felt like he shouldn't have planned to go to Mana in the first place.

"I—Anyway, I should go…" he lowly said, slowly getting up from the couch. He turned to Mana, who was standing up as well. "Thanks, Mana." He gratefully said before striding towards the door and leaving after he and Mana said their goodbyes.

He now stood on the other side of the door, holding the handle with one hand and the potpourri in the other. He sighed heavily. _You're kind, Zazie. _Mana's words resounded in his mind. Somehow, he felt good about it.

He smiled a small one to himself.

And he went back to where Emi was.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay maybe Zazie was a little OOC here, or is it just me. Hopefully he was in character, and more hopefully that the way Zazie thinks is like a guy's mind. (I should ask my guy best friend on how he thinks about stuff like these…)

Anyway, summer vacation has already started from where I am, so almost regular updates! (Because writer's block, laziness, and summer workshops are in a pile over there.) Oh by the way, my WiFi's not really working and I'm just borrowing my mother's portable WiFi. So be warned. I took a _really _long time in writing this chapter because I didn't know what to write—like how to type in the words and sentences even though I knew the idea of the chapter. Seriously a writer's block. I hated that feeling. But I hope you liked it!


	11. Sentiments

**Secrecy**

**Chapter Eleven – ****Sentiments**

**A/N: **Hello everyone! Sorry for the very long absence, haha. I had a very huge writer's block for this chapter. I already had like 1/4 of this chapter written but then I decided to erase it all and redo it. Anyway, there are some changes to the play I was originally planning on. You'll notice it, and just pretend that it was really like that and such. But if you had forgotten, then better, haha. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

**WARNING: **May contain curses.

**DISCLAIMER: **_Kleia does not own Letter Bee—only her OCs. _

* * *

Drained. They were all drained from today's practice.

Right after Emi came back from the room she was in—she and Zazie talked for a while and blushed for a while and let the silence hang in the ether for a while until Zazie volunteered to walk her to where the other people are because she couldn't even stand up and walk without feeling nauseous without that disturbing throb in her head—Mia and the others instantly swarmed towards her and stood in a half circle in front of her. (Lag Connor Sylvette Hiro and Mia. All of them.) They all shouted questions of worry and concern and she wondered why. _Why are they so nice?_

"Hey, Emi, when's the play again?" Lag asked beside her.

That's right. She was actually walking home with Lag. He volunteered. He feared she might collapse while she was walking home and that maybe she would be eaten alive by some crazy person or animal. (That was Lag's silly guess.) It was actually endearing, and that was what she envied about Lag. He loves and loves and loves. He cares and cares and cares. He just pours everything in without running out of what he was continuously giving away. Because he gains more when he loses.

"I think fourteen days from now," she answered him, looking at him. They were almost the same height. And she noticed that maybe she was too small for her age. Lag was thirteen by now, and she was fourteen, and the rest were fifteen and sixteen. She was sandwiched between the ages of her comrades.

Lag looked rather excited and nervous at the same time. "Oh I can't wait! How are you playing your role, Emi? I heard from Mia you were having a very hard time. Is it true?" he asked, apparently very eager to know the answer.

Emi could do nothing but inwardly sigh. "Yeah it's kinda hard…" she answered him. "What about you, Lag?"

"Oh it's not a really big thing," he laughed, "I'm just gonna play as your friend who goofs around a lot. I do that a lot, right?"

"Niche thinks Lag makes ugly jokes!" Niche piped in, jumping ahead of them as she told the pair, her straight golden hair flying behind her, Steak still on her head.

Emi could feel the embarrassment leaking from Lag. She turned her head to face him, and sure enough, he was pouting and blushing to where Niche once was. She couldn't help but smile for a short while at Lag's humiliation. But within three seconds, it faded, and so did their voices.

It wasn't long before Lag broke the ice once again, asking her numerous questions. She didn't find it annoying, though. What she found troubling was how she would respond and react to it. Not a lot of people talked to her, let alone went near her. She was an outsider, so things like these were her weaknesses. Though she really liked how Lag kept on putting on the effort to talk to her and make her feel comfortable around him—which was already slowly brewing, she was indeed enjoying his company—she knew herself that _she _was the problem.

x—x—x

Fourteen days later. Bee Hive. Today was the day.

Butterflies kept on swarming and flying in her stomach that it seemed too full so they flew over her entire body and now all she could do was be paralyzed on her spot in the backstage. She couldn't move she couldn't move she couldn't move not even a single finger she couldn't move everything. She was so still she thought one small movement and everything would shatter everything would break apart and everyone would blame her for the mess. All she felt right now was fear apprehension rigidity and she felt her knees clicking together rapidly and her heart beating twice as fast. She felt so unrehearsed. Like all the practices they've done through the days have been burnt into nothing and maybe she'll forget everything.

What if she does? What if she can't remember a single line? What if she can't move anymore? What if she just doesn't exist anymore and just stands there on the stage stupidly? What if everyone would mock her if she does? What if after that everything would be so chaotic? What if—

"Hey snap out of it," an all too familiar voice said and she heard the sound of a finger snapping her out of her trance. Her vision started clearing up and in front of her was no other than Zazie, in his all black costume (black blazer, white shirt, black pants, black shoes), bored and annoyed. He was frowning at her. "Didn't you practice your lines well?" he asked her in a matter-of-factly tone.

Emi blinked at him. Glanced at her script, then back at Zazie, who was looking at her. "… Well, yeah," she truthfully answered.

"Well what's there to be nervous about?"

"Maybe I'll make a mistake."

"We all do," Zazie said, rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms. "Last year's play was so shitty that all I could remember was Lag crying and Connor in a mess because his dress was so tight it ripped in the middle of the play—not just a small tear, hell no. It was a big ass rip the dress almost fell down." He said in exasperation, although she could see how he tried his best to hide the laughter that was about to come. "Well anyway, just calm down okay? It's not something serious anyway."

And with that, he turned around and didn't look back.

She watched him as he joined a conversation with Lag and Connor, the two of them already dressed. She watched him smile a little chuckle a little smirk and play around with Lag and Connor. She watched him pat Lag's back reassuringly and she watched him look at Lag like how a brother looks at his younger sibling. And how (jealous jealous jealous) warm she felt looking at the three friends. The trio were so close they were most likely brothers in each other's eyes already. And how she wished someone, a friend, would treat her like that.

"Emi, what's up? Why aren't you still dressed—"

Mia suddenly looked over to where she was staring. She grinned devilishly.

"Were you looking at Zazie? Just now?" She provocatively asked.

Instantly—and unknowingly—Emi shook her head no. She kept on shaking her head, left right left right. She felt the need to do it. She didn't want anyone to know, even though it seemed quite obvious. It wasn't because she liked Zazie. She doesn't like him, but she doesn't hate him either.

"Whoa alright, alright, let's just dress up, okay?" Mia told her, as if calming down a hysterical horse.

Emi nodded. Mia ushered her to the dressing rooms. She followed without any hesitation, feeling mortification burning through her bones tissues cells muscles organs blood. Her whole body was flushed in embarrassment she could hardly breathe because of it. Roses slowly bloomed across her cheeks and she tried very hard to hide it. Her fingers were trembling and she suddenly remembered she was about to perform in front of an ocean of people. People she doesn't know—strangers. And the thought made everything worse.

She was sweating and the sweat was dripping down her neck temple head chin and just everywhere she was sweating she was sweating she was nervous. Thoughts and voices played in her mind her lines her cues her parts all rushed into her mind like a speeding hawk. Something fell in the pit of her stomach and she suddenly felt like vomiting and just lying on the cold floor, motionless. She wanted something to swallow her up she would do anything to not exist right at the moment. She felt so saturnine and lightheaded she hated it.

They were already inside the makeshift dressing room. She suddenly starting breathing promptly, her heart beating just as fast. Her world was spinning and she wanted to cry her vision was blurring but she blinked it all away. She won't be vulnerable she won't be vulnerable she won't be vulnerable. Hold it in keep it together hold it in keep it—

Mia frantically rushed towards her and asked her things but all she could comprehend was her voice and not the words. She felt Mia clutching her arm so tight it might leave a very very very light bruise. Her eyes were sewn shut as she mouthed: "Sylvette." And she hoped and hoped and hoped that Mia would hear her. She tried to clear her ears.

"Sylvette? Want me to call Sylvette?"

She nodded and nodded and nodded, her eyes still shut tight as she sank on the floor, wishing she could sink further down until she's one with the earth. She tried to seal all her nervousness inside her. Seal it in seal it in seal it in. She inhaled exhaled inhaled exhaled yet it wasn't of so much use. Thoughts and lines and sentences were circling in her mind, mocking her, telling her that she'll forget everything that she'll mess up. She'll ruin everything.

Suddenly everything went blank. She can't remember her lines anymore. The thoughts and voices stopped and everything just went blank. It all dispersed into thin air. It was all gone. Along with her roles and lines and her script. She couldn't take it all in anymore. She doesn't like performing in front of a crowd. She's not like the sun. She doesn't shine bright and radiant in all the glory she has. She doesn't blind people and at the same time make them feel embraced with warmth. She's better off in the shadows. She's a moon. She shows up in the dark and sometimes she doesn't show up at all. She glows dimly, with the tiniest bit of radiance leaking out of her.

Sylvette finally came and she felt her hand all over her face. "Emi, what's the matter? How are you feeling?" she asked, voice laced with frenzy and concern.

She wheezed as she shook her head, eyebrows knitted together. Her heart was aching and beating so fast she thought it'll get tired and stop pumping blood all over her body. She tried to talk but she couldn't so she simply sat there breathing haggardly and sweating.

"Mia could you get her some water please? Hurry hurry," Sylvette requested as she rubbed soothing circles on Emi's back.

Once Emi felt Mia was out of earshot, she coughed and inhaled and exhaled and coughed. Sylvette stayed by her side and kept on rubbing her back until she finally asked: "What's wrong? What happened? Are you okay now?" and she asked and asked and asked Emi had forgotten about the other questions.

"I just felt nervous," she simply explained, trying to lower the use of words and voice.

She felt Sylvette's eyes bear themselves into her soul. "… Stage fright?"

Emi shrugged. "Maybe." She confessed, feeling at ease with Sylvette's presence. "… This is… the worst one yet."

She glanced at Sylvette and inwardly thanked her for her concern. "Maybe you should rest. Could you still go on with the play?"

She cringed. "Just thinking about it…"

"Here's the water," Mia said, appearing before Emi and Sylvette, a glass of water in hand.

Emi mumbled her thanks, took the water and drank. The water flooded through her droughty throat and insides. It was as if it was raining in the desert. She felt better she felt better she felt better. Maybe she can do this. Maybe she won't fail this. She can do this she can do this. She swallowed one last time and gave the glass back to Mia and stayed silent for a while. She recalled all the lines and actions and everything. She can do this she can get through this.

"I think we only have a few minutes left before it starts, Emi. You sure you can still do it?" Sylvette asked her.

"We don't have any other choice, Sylv. We don't have a substitute protagonist. Emi _has _to do it." Mia explained, quite nervously and urgently.

"Emi are you really sure about this?" Sylvette still asked, her concerned voice growing and growing.

She nodded, eyes sewn shut.

"Alright," Mia began, Emi could feel her standing up. "I'll tell the others to get ready."

She left without another word.

"Emi, can you stand?" Sylvette questioned.

She tried to stand up. She held on Sylvette's arm and stood. Once she did, she felt every morsel of nausea strike her and make her stumble. Her head spun and ached for a little moment. Then it was slowly dissipating. She slowly saw clearly and she gained her balance again. She nodded. "… Let's get my costume," she said in a raspy voice, and instead of the both of them looking for her costume (a long maroon gown matched with red sandals and a silver butterfly necklace), Sylvette insisted that she look for it. So she did.

Once Sylvette found the costume, she presented it to Emi, who immediately took it. (Sylvette took this as a signal to go outside and wait for her to finish.) Emi then started peeling off her clothes as fast and careful as she could, without feeling sick again. As she was doing so, she recalled all her lines and actions. She grabbed the gown and slowly wore it, zipping it halfway as she couldn't reach the upper back part anymore. She sported the red sandals and held the necklace, thinking Sylvette might help her put it on. So she went out of the room stoically, and presented Sylvette her costume.

Sylvette gasped in awe. "You look stunning," she said.

"Could you help me with the zipper?" Emi asked instead, not knowing how to respond to the compliment.

Sylvette smiled and went behind her, easily zipping up the zipper, making the dress more fitting and rather comfortable around her waist part. She then showed Sylvette the butterfly necklace. "And with this…" she requested.

"Of course," Sylvette giggled as she took the necklace from Emi's hand. She planted the butterfly on her chest and grabbed the two ends of the small silver chains. She then locked it and fixed Emi's slightly messy hair. "There, done." She said, stepping away from Emi and taking another look at her once again. She gave her a thumbs up. "Perfect, now let's go, Mia's waiting."

They walked through the halls silently, Emi's eyes darting her surroundings as if it were her first time in the Hive. Once she heard noise and footsteps and hushed voices, she knew they were close. They walked faster and reached the destination. She was slowly remembering her lines and parts and actions. Lag and Connor zoomed towards her. Zazie walked behind them. Her nervousness was slowly going away, but she was waiting for the worst. She was expecting it, but when it does happen, she wouldn't know what to do or what to feel.

"Emi! What happened to you? Where did you go?" Lag abruptly asked, the same concern and uneasiness in his voice and lineaments.

"Did something happen?" Connor added fearfully.

She saw Sylvette shake her head beside her. "Emi just didn't feel well for some time, but she's okay now." She informed the three Bees and looked at Emi with a small smile. "Right Emi?" she asked her, and she simply nodded, not really wanting to talk. (Because maybe she'll forget her lines once she spoke.) "And she's gorgeous, right? Don't you think? She looks like a doll! Right Lag? Oh Emi you are so cute! I could dress you up all day!" Sylvette squealed in pure joy and admiration, clasping her hands together in sheer joy.

Lag heaved a sigh of relief and laughed at Sylvette's squealing. "Yeah Emi, you look great! Red suits you," he complimented, and Emi simply nodded at him and mouthed a thank you. He smiled in response. "And I'm glad you're doing well… I thought something worse had happened…!" he added.

"You had stage fright, didn't you?" Zazie suddenly asked, his bronze eyes digging deep in her own gray ones.

Emi cringed and flinched for a little bit. He knew. He knew he knew he knew. Or maybe it was obvious. Maybe she looked so obviously scared. In that realization, she felt a blush flush her cheeks and it was warm warm warm and the thought of her getting embarrassed made more roses cover her entire face. She slightly turned away and hid her face and she nodded. It was embarrassing it was mortifying it was chastening.

"Why so embarrassed? It happens to everyone," he nonchalantly said, as if he had this before. Maybe he did. But not like this.

She slowly turned to him, the blush going away. He looked at her, not even blinking. His eyes were indeed bronze. It was like they were made out of it. Then he blinked. Then she blinked. Then he looked away. Then she noticed that the circle was practically staring at both of them. Her eyes then landed on Connor, who seemed as if he was about to speak.

"Yeah it happened to me before. I can't remember… but I just ate then the nervousness was gone." He said, not seeming to notice the awkward ether around them.

Then his words were left hanging in the rigid air. She didn't know how it got to be like this, but she definitely didn't like it. Everyone around her, circling her, seemed to be lost in their own little worlds, and she and Zazie were the only ones trapped in reality. He was still not looking at her. Strangely, she wanted to talk to him. She'll try. She would gather her courage to talk to him. She wants to make friends. She—

"Play is staring in sixty seconds, everyone! Get ready!" Mia shouted and it echoed across the backstage.

It all came back. The nervousness the fear the trembling the—

"Emi, we'll go now, okay? Good luck to all of us!" Lag cheered as he and the rest went to Mia.

She was slightly shaking and she was once again breathing haggardly. Another round of thoughts and voices exploded in her head and she felt like falling and tumbling and nausea struck her again and—

Sylvette rubbed her back. It was soothing. "It's gonna be okay, Emi. You can do this." She looked over at Sylvette and found her smiling, she found her lips slightly stretching upwards as well. "Just focus on your lines and don't think about anything else. Just your lines. You'll do fine when you do that." she reassured and Emi felt better once again with Sylvette's help. She nodded and nodded and nodded.

She looked at Sylvette (hopefully) gratefully. "Thank you," she said, nodded, then she strolled rapidly towards Mia. The anxiety was slowly returning each step she took. She inhaled and exhaled evenly. She won't let the fear get to her. Empty her mind remove all thoughts. Empty her mind remove all thoughts. Empty her mind remove her thoughts, she repeatedly chanted in her mind as she neared Mia. And when Mia snapped her towards her, she flinched and everything slapped her at that moment.

"Emi! Thank goodness you're okay," Mia exclaimed and thankfully, she was the one who walked towards Emi. "You can do well now, right? Well anyway play's about to start, hurry up and go to your place! Hurry hurry! Review your lines and expressions and actions!" she ordered and brisk-walked away from her, giving her a pat on the shoulder in the process.

Emi, meanwhile, sighed lightly and went to her respective place by the curtain. She silently rehearsed everything—the intro and some other parts were cut and off they'll go to the fight scene immediately, her attitude would stay the same (but she'll still smile) and other changes she had forgotten about. She was glad she didn't have to smile and laugh all the time. She wasn't used to doing it.

"Ten seconds everyone! Get ready!" someone yelled from the very back of the backstage, causing everyone to hush and run to their respective places and such.

She breathed in and out. She can do this. She will focus. She won't forget her lines. She—

"Now." Someone whispered.

She took this as a cue to enter the open stage, her first line already in mind. So once the curtains slowly part open, she entered the scene, nervousness beating continuously in her chest, making a huge tantrum. She was limiting the haggardness of her breaths and the sweat that was trickling down her face. She stopped in the middle of the stage and just stood there for a minute or two. She held tightly her fake gun and looked at both her sides to find Lag and Connor, and she was envious because they both seemed so rehearsed and confident.

"L—look after… our a—allies and—and make sure nobody's hurt, especially… Lauren McCallister," she recited and she slightly flushed in embarrassment due to her failure of delivering her lines. She took a short breath in and out. _One more time, _she thought to herself. "I'll go after Drake."

"This is gonna be so fun!" Lag casually grinned at her and immediately ran to the other side of the stage, 'shooting' at the men who came after him. Once he saw them play dead, Lag panicked. It felt so ridiculously amusing. "Wah I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to—" he started to slowly cry as he was dragged away by an annoyed Mia.

"I'll come with you," Connor said, and Emi took this as a cue to look behind her, hopefully staring hard enough at him as he also had the same stern look plastered on his face. "I won't allow you to go search for him alone. He's pretty tricky and you might be walking around traps if you search for him alone."

She was amazed at how prepared he was. She clenched her fist and tried her best to look annoyed. She was sure she failed at it. "I… I know that."

Just as she turned around, a makeshift gun was pointed exactly at her forehead, but her stare didn't falter. Even though her heart was beating a hundred times faster in anxiety even though she's shaking and shaking and shaking even though she's scared of making a mistake. She simply used her stoic stare at Moc, who seemed to be the bored-looking antagonist for the story. The crowd gasped at the sudden event and she couldn't help but smile a little in satisfaction.

"Kelly," Moc monotonously greeted.

Conner immediately pointed his improvised gun at Moc, and the latter pointed another gun at Connor using his free hand without even looking. "What a very pleasant surprise to see you here in this ball. You look absolutely gorgeous tonight," he stoically recited, causing an awkward atmosphere rise from the audience.

Emi slowly pointed her own gun at him and simply stared at him hard, hoping she was successfully doing her parts even though her hand was visibly trembling as she held the gun at Moc. She scrunched her nose in absolute disgust (hopefully) and blinked when she saw his finger pull the trigger. In the blink of an eye, she pushed his hands diagonally down and away from each other. The bullets hit the floor a meter away from the three, and Emi narrowed her eyes, pretending to twist Moc's arms. He remained stoic even still.

Emi heard Connor firing his gun who was about to shoot Emi. "Pathetic," he said, as he shot a man who was about to ran towards him. They both played dead on the stage.

She then landed a punch on his stomach and he stoically pretended to cough out blood. Emi attempted to raise her leg and drive her heel on top of Moc's head, but it turns out that Moc was too tall to be hit by her heel, so Emi decided to rip out the bottom part of her maroon gown, as she wore leggings underneath. She felt awkwardly exposed and she couldn't move properly after what had been done. Yet it must go on, so she tried to kick him once more, but Moc was able to dodge her move. Emi understood the signal and she said as loud as she can: "Everyone duck," as she began shooting bullets at Moc, who ran straight-faced across the stage. She didn't know what she was doing.

Gasps, screams, and cries were heard from the audience as this occurred. Perhaps this was true bliss. The happiness of an accomplishment. The joy of success—

"Idiot," someone said behind her in deep disinterest and boredom. It was Zazie.

Emi turned around and found no one as the other Bees were assaulting her. She looked around the stage as a name left her lips: "H—Haru?" she muttered as her gray eyes scanned the stage—

A gun fire was heard from the crowd. It was real it was real it was real. It was a real gun. And it was fired. Multiple screams were heard and the crowd immediately dispersed in fear and panic. Women and children crying and men running away from the scene. The play was stopped and the Bees were left to analyze where the gun shot came from. Shivers ran up and down her spine as she spotted a cloaked man, eyeing her intensely that it made her bilious. Every hair in her body rose and she stumbled back in fear and hysteria, her legs turning into jelly. Every organ in her body fell onto the floor.

She knew something was coming but she didn't know what it was. And every morsel of fear was rising up in her throat and only then did she realize she was actually already crying. In front of Zazie, Lag, Connor, and just everyone. She inhaled and exhaled raddled breaths and her heart her heart her heart. She pitied her heart. It had been beating so fast since the days and weeks before the play. And now here she is, with an aching and burning throat and chest, tears spilling down her eyes in hysteria as she was being pulled away by Zazie. They were running. Away. From them.

She only realized now that she was actually sprinting away with Zazie holding her hand, tightly gripping his shindan on his other. She looked far across and found Lag and Niche ahead of them. Niche was holding her weapons with her hair as she freely ran and jumped around the hall. She didn't know where they were going. She looked behind her and found Connor barely surviving the long run. And the men were gone. She didn't know where Zazie was leading her. She huffed and wheezed and thoughts were spilled across her brain. She didn't know why the men were after them. She was getting awfully drained and she wanted to stop running. Her lungs begged for oxygen her heart wants to pump at a steady pace her legs are dying to rest and her mind is needing peace.

She didn't know where Mia, Sylvette, and the other Bees were. They might've been kidnapped. Or killed. She felt a stab in her chest as she suddenly stopped herself from running, slightly being pulled by Zazie's brute force. He stopped a beat after, and she felt his eyes on her. They were both panting at the same cadence and she was still whimpering only ever slightly. She could barely stand anymore and she let herself collapse on the cold marble floors of the hallway. The rest followed after her. So now they all sat and lay on the cold floor, breathless, pensive, and raddled.

"Who… the hell… were they?" Zazie pondered out loud, wheezing in between his words.

Connor shrugged, panting the heaviest among the four of them. And right then and there did Emi realize she was with three boys. She suddenly sat awkwardly. "Who—whoever… they were… they're—they're definitely… up to… no good,"

"Are they… are they trying to… kill us?" Lag questioned, tears already streaming down his face. "Were they gonna…? Did—did we do something… wrong?" he hiccupped and instantly, he was crying. Emi blinked at how full Lag is of emotion. "Where are the others…?" he then asked, the tears continuously running down his cheeks.

Zazie ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "That, we do not know. Hopefully they're all safe. Because if not… then," a sigh, "I don't know…" he admitted, and his words were like needles stabbing Emi all over, the pain like electricity coursing through her veins. She shivered.

"What's… what's wrong, Emi?" Lag asked her, and she snapped her eyes at him, but she immediately casted them down on the glossy floor. Pure concern was in his voice.

She didn't answer him.

"Emi… do you know them?" Connor suddenly asked, the suspense and rigidness in the air slowly rising. And three pairs of eyes were on her at the moment. "Or rather… have you seen them before?" he rephrased, talking so subtly as if she were standing on a ledge, about to fall off, and he was convincing her to calm down and not do it.

She blinked at Connor before nodding. She continuously bobbed her head up and down up and down until she felt as if her neck could fall off any moment. Connor and Lag were trying to stop her but she didn't. They just stared at her, nodding and nodding and nodding—

She

was

crying. And she didn't know how it happened but she just did. Maybe it was a little too much to take in. Everything. The men the suspense the paranoia and everything else. Something was there but she doesn't know what it was. It was like feeling as if you don't know what you need, but you know something's missing. Like looking at a misspelled word thinking there might be a missing letter yet you don't know what that letter is. And now she's letting out whimpers and covering her face.

"Whoa wait holy shit what the hell happened why is she crying what did we do?" She guessed that was Zazie.

"I—Is it something I said? DidIsaysomethingwrong? I—do you want pizza? I, um, I'll buy you one…" Connor.

"Emi I'm sorry I didn't mean to do it! Wah I'm starting to tear up!" Lag.

She just broke down. It was none of their faults. She was holding everything in—bottling her feelings. She was a gaichuu that had been shot with a shindan. She had burst. And it was the wrong time to do so. In front of three boys who had no clue on what to do to comfort her—which was, in realization, was all she ever wanted. She wanted a hand on her back, rubbing soothing circles, and someone telling her it'll be okay. She wanted hushes and hugs and warmth. Not the bodily warmth she emanates everyday, but the warmth she receives from someone. Because she was someone who had been raised and been living in a world of ice and isolation that she didn't know what warmth and presence felt like.

She suddenly felt something wrap around her, but when she peeked from the holes in her fingers, she saw no one touching nor hugging her. It was the feeling of needing security. She had been getting these invisible touches every now and then. Touches that felt so real and so warm and so safe yet it was unreal and invisible. The feeling of needing two arms wrapped around you.

And that was all she wanted these days. Two arms engulfing her in a warm embrace which pulled all her broken pieces back together. She would like to call it home. Her listening to that person's very steady heartbeat as they breathe as one. Her feeling darkness wrap around her—but it was the good darkness. The darkness you would want to be around with, the darkness that secured you—as calmness enters her very being and she would feel as if she were floating amid the stars or sinking in nothing.

That was what all novels she read had said about hugs. She escapes in a galaxy made out of paper, with words as the buildings and roads. Paper people paper animals paper trees. It was a galaxy wherein she falls in love with the very essence of the book—every morsel of it. A galaxy where her soul touches the soul of the characters a galaxy wherein she feels perfect love and romance a galaxy wherein she _feels _for things.

She just registered herself into reality and now she removed her hand from her face and watched the scene unfold in front of her, blinking in curiosity.

"… What do we do?"

"Don't ask me I don't know shit about crying and girls and girls crying! Ask Lag he cries a lot!"

"Why me—I just—I cry a lot but—"

"Lag just _do _something!"

"I—okay but—I'll try,"

"Agh why are girls so complicated? Like she just cried for no reason at all and here we are as guys who don't know a single thing about girls except for Lag!"

"H—hey! I'm—I'm a guy too…!"

"Yeah you are Lag, you just… you cry a lot for a guy your age."

The three of them exchanged sentences and glances and glares as if they were playing a game. Emi could only stare at them. She was speechless at the three men who were with her. Her crying has stopped—more like her whimpering—but the tears still ran down her face nonstop.

"Ahhhh if you guys do nothing at all and Mia and Sylvette will see her like this they'll literally skin us alive."

"I—but I—we don't—like have no clue—what we should do."

She started rubbing her eyes, begging the tears to stop flowing down when she felt a hand pat her shoulder, then it was softly patting her back. ("I'm doing this because I don't want to be beaten up by girls," Zazie muttered in defense.) It was horribly relaxing. It was so horribly relaxing that everything she felt just replayed and now she was crying once again but she didn't let out a single whimper and hiccup. The tears just welled up and fell from her eyes as she tried blinking them away. She tried to stop the tears, to stop the crying, to stop her thoughts and the event that had just happened.

But she failed to do so, as her lips started to tremble once again, and the tears fell down her eyes on their own accord. She wiped them away instantly, but they never ran out. She continued to wipe her hands until Zazie's hand just traveled to her shoulders, slowly pulling her to him.

"You know, wiping them away will just make it stream down more." He said as her face was hidden in his shoulder, his hand continuously patting her shoulder. "So… you should just… let it out," And as soon as those words reached her ears, she let it all out. All the strength she had had just been absorbed by Zazie's warmth, and she collapsed herself against it, letting out soft whimpers and sniffles. She knew she was wetting Zazie's shirt, but she knew he didn't care. Because he was Zazie.

His hand started to run itself through her hair, sometimes getting caught in its tangles. She started to breath evenly. Then other hands were patting her back as well, causing her to collapse even more on Zazie that her head ended up on his chest. He didn't seem to mind either way, and continued to stroke his hand through her hair, slowly, comfortingly. Lag was whispering comforting words on her ear, and Connor was simply trying to console her, which made her cry even harder. It meant so much to her.

She breathed in and out, listening to Zazie's steady heartbeat and Connor's and Lag's whispers. They were her music at the moment, and it slowly lulled her to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: **I hope you enjoyed! Chapter 12 is currently in the works, however, I'm slowly running out of motivation once again. But on the brighter side, Christmas break is fast approaching! I'd probably leave you guys with a Christmas one-shot to hopefully not keep you waiting. :) (Probably a New Year one-shot too... hm.) Anyway, I'd love to know what you thought about this chapter that took forever to publish. (From March to December? Wow!) Not only that, but how you have been lately too! :) Happy December everyone!


	12. Vigilant

**Secrecy**

**Chapter Twelve – Vigilant**

**A/N: **Hello guys! Sorry for the long absence! (Had that writer's block once again... I haven't been motivated recently... Not good.) Anyway, to compensate for my absence, I'm presenting you: a 6,000+ worded chapter! I really hope you'll enjoy. :)

**WARNING: **May contain curses.

**DISCLAIMER: **_Kleia does not own Letter Bee—only her OCs. _

* * *

Not a single soul uttered a word inside the same room Emi was in a few days ago, who was once again, resting peacefully from the outburst she had moments ago, before Mia and Sylvette finally found Zazie and the others sitting on the floor. Zazie hadn't realized that by the time they were found, he had already slumbered, along with Lag and Connor, who took a few nudges to wake them up. He didn't dare wake up Emi, for he knew she needed to rest her whole being. He knew how drained she was, inside and out. He knew, for he felt the same emotions when his parents had died. Only he didn't cry.

_Their death anniversary is right around the corner… _he thought, unconsciously clenching his fists, then unclenching them. _It's been forever since I last saw them… I should visit._ He let out a somber sigh, as he let his eyes travel to Emi's sleeping form, blinking as if examining a specimen. His eyes then landed on his companions—Mia, Sylvette, Lag, and Connor. Mia was the only one awake.

"… I wonder who those guys were… what they wanted from us…" Mia quietly spoke, her hands clasped together on her lap, eyes far away, clouded with thoughts.

Zazie debated on answering her. She might be talking to herself. But suddenly Mia's emerald eyes shifted to his, and they searched for answers. He then spoke up: "They might be from Reverse… but it won't make a lot of sense. We defeated them ages ago. Reverse is gone. Noir is gone, Roda is gone. Everything is back to normal."

Mia only looked at him. "But what if this 'Reverse' group recreated itself with a new plan, a new person to target? What if they're back, to like, take revenge for what you did to them?"

"Reverse's sole purpose is to destroy our artificial sun. They're against Amberground's government," he explained.

"If they're truly Reverse…" Zazie bent down, resting his elbows on his thighs as he clasped his fingers and rested it over his lips. "If they're really back, then, perhaps, they would have brought a gaichuu with them that would serve as a threat to the citizens. Probably a weak one, before letting out the strong one—something like the Cabernet, but not entirely the same gaichuu. They're after the 'hearts' of people because of some bullshit." He said, voice hoarse and filled with hatred. "_And_ if they're after the 'hearts' of people, they could've just snagged those citizens all they want, after going through us. But it didn't happen."

"Could it be…" Mia's voice trailed off, causing Zazie to look in her direction. He waited for her to continue her sentence. She looked at him as if he'd grown two heads. "It could be possible, Zazie," she paused once again, "there might be another group after us—after the Hive." Her voice was slowly rising in realization. It _can _be true. But it _mustn't _be true. "History might repeat itself, Zazie."

"But what are they after now?" He asked, now planting his clasped hands in the gap between his knees. "It doesn't make any sense. It's all so vague."

"It's just the beginning. They might be declaring something."

"What, a war?" He snorted. "Who would want to wage war against the deliverers of 'heart?'"

"This 'Reverse' group you mentioned, they fought against you." Mia stated in a matter-of-factly tone, as if she'd been there throughout the commotion.

"Yeah, they did. But they were after 'heart', not the deliverers of it. And that's not the point of this conversation anyway." He slightly glared at Mia, who looked at him with a tinge of irritation. After a moment's pause, Zazie sighed, and pondered once more. "What might they be declaring? What are they after? Those are the questions. We haven't done anything wrong as of late. No commotions were reported, no ambushes, no anything. What must there be declared about?" He narrowed his eyes. "Unless one of the Bees haven't been reporting anything due to threats from the other party." His bronze narrowed eyes gazed over at Mia, who widened her orbs in realization.

"True, it might be so…" she muttered, thinking deeply. "But we should've noticed if one of the Bees here have been acting strangely, right?" she said, "I'm observant, if I do say so myself, and lately, well, nothing strange was and is going on. I think everything's perfectly normal."

"Ya think," Zazie scoffed as he leaned back on his chair, slumping against his seat. "Yeah right, your guts will lead you nowhere. The truth is what we need." He stated as he rested his chin on the palm of his hand. He sighed. "Shit's happening again, and Largo's gonna order us to clean it for everyone." He closed his eyes. "Just thinking about it tires me. What a drag."

"Then let's not think about it," she yawned, covering her mouth in the process. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at Zazie with soft eyes. "So, when we got there…" she began, and Zazie raised his eyebrows in question. A sly grin covered her face. "Were you really hugging Emi?"

He felt his eyebrow twitch. He folded his arms across his chest and slumped more against his seat. "She needed it," he muttered, "and besides, you'd skin us alive if we didn't do anything to calm her down. She just suddenly broke down in front of us."

Mia smiled. "Maybe, maybe," she nodded, "but did she tell you why she cried?"

Zazie shook his head no. "Only about how she knew about the men, then that's about it. No other word spoken."

Mia stayed silent, and so did he. It was true. Ever since they had gotten back from their delivery, she had been very wordless. Sure, she spoke a few words, muttered a few sentences, but Zazie observed how far away she actually was. She was there, but her mind wasn't. Something was bothering her. He knew. He felt it.

"Zazie," Mia called out, earning Zazie's eyes. "Do you like Emi?"

A pang in his chest, and his heart ran and ran and ran, running through a race that never ended. He felt a tad warm, but only a tad. He lowered his cap over his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest once again. He huffed. "Why the hell is everyone asking me that?"

"You're blushing,"

"Shut your trap," he glared at her through his cap. She only chuckled.

"So? Do you like her or not?"

He sneered. "No," he said.

"But I don't hate her either," he admitted after a moment's pause. "It's nothing. I feel nothing for her. She's a friend, that's all. Got your answer?"

"If you _really _feel nothing for her, then what's with the hug earlier?"

He growled silently, tightening his jaw as he did so. "Haven't you heard of _consoling_? That's what's with the hug earlier." He huffed, "Jeez, everyone's so nosy nowadays. Even assuming something that's not."

He heard Mia scowl. "Well…! Sorry for asking!" she exclaimed, almost loud enough to wake their friends.

"Keep your voice down, Mia," he shushed, "and apology accepted."

They both stayed quiet as they heard the shuffling of sheets and shifting of positions from the three sleeping friends. Zazie waited until it was perfectly silent, and until Mia would speak up again.

When she didn't, he brought it upon himself to say: "She looked like she needed it anyway—someone to lean on, I mean," he looked up just so he could peek at Mia, who looked at him as if she'd seen two of him, but at the same time her eyes held understanding in them. She knew about it too.

"She needs someone to talk to,"

Zazie stayed silent at that. True, she needed someone to talk to, but it would be guaranteed hard to do—she was already a hard nut to crack. He frowned. He bottles up his emotions sometimes, but he simply takes it out by exterminating gaichuus. _I wonder what she does to get rid of her thoughts… _he pondered. She doesn't seem to be the one to express her feelings to someone—obviously—nor is she the kind to pour her thoughts into hobbies. Then what does she do—sit quiet in a room thinking about what bothers her more?

_She's stupid if she really does that_. Zazie scoffed upon this. _But maybe she just does something to prevent her from thinking about it. That could be it—there's no other way but that._ He confirmed, sitting up straight for a moment, stretching his back with a small moan, before slumping in his seat once more.

"Aren't you gonna at least take a nap?" she asked.

"Nah," he said with a light shrug. "Someone's got to keep an eye out for something strange. Who knows? Maybe one of those men might be here. Probably not in this room, but in the Hive."

He simply looked at Mia afterwards, who gazed at him in boredom and sleepiness. "Well, don't get too worked up. Count sheep once in a while." She closed her eyes. "Don't get too paranoid, too."

"... Whatever," Zazie said with a roll of his eyes.

Mia had stayed quiet, eyes shut tight. The room was dead silent once again, the sound of the air conditioning unit, Lag's and Niche's silent sleep-talking, and Connor's snores made the stillness less deafening. Zazie's eyes wandered around the room slowly, eyeing each sleeping body carefully. Mia simply sat limply on her chair, eyes closed and breathing even. (Although her head was slightly bobbing down now.) If she hadn't been talking moments ago, Zazie would have mistaken her for being dead already. His eyes then traveled to Lag and Niche, who, weirdly yet normally (Zazie often saw them sleeping on the floor in Sylvette's house, but he never thought they would do it here, too), were found sleeping on the floor, Niche's large arms and hair entangled around Lag's small and fragile body. Zazie even chuckled at the sight of Lag's legs intertwined with Niche's.

Zazie had to bite his lip at the sight of Connor sleeping—he was on a chair beside Emi's bed, but his head was cocked upwards in an awkward manner, his mouth was wide open with drool running down the side of his lips like a mini waterfall (Zazie literally saw the saliva running down his lips). His legs were outstretched and his arms were hanging limp by the arm of the chair. There were times when his head would fall down or to the side, accompanied by a loud snore. Luckily he, nor anyone, woke up to that.

Zazie knew about how a lurid snorer Connor was. He cringed at the thought. He never got his rest because every time he would close his eyes after his loud snore, another one would come up—sometimes it would last up to five seconds. He counted. Sometimes, it would even be louder than the one before. He winced once more, rubbing his arms to stop the goose bumps. _Never sleep in Connor's place. Ever. Again,_ he thought in confirmation.

At that moment, the doors opened, revealing a vigilant Aria standing by the doorway, arms still outstretched, holding the knob. "Yes, you should be here…" she muttered, slowly letting go of the knob, and standing upright, staring into Zazie's curious eyes. She closed the door and took a few quiet steps into the room, nearing Zazie. "Letter Bee Zazie," she silently called out, "what had happened earlier? A gun had been fired—is it true?" she inquired, and with each question, her bespectacled eyes widened.

Zazie rested his cheek on his palm, elbows planted on the arm of his chair. "Aria," he said with a hoarse and uninterested tone of voice. "I don't mean to be rude, but please, keep your voice down. Everyone's asleep." He then sighed. "It's true. But only one shot was fired, then we fled the scene. None of the guys followed us, and hopefully, they aren't hiding somewhere in here." He had reported, looking up at Aria, who seemed to be calm.

"Thank the Empress," she sighed in relief, before letting herself sit down on one of the available chairs. "We had some Bees look around the Hive for something suspicious, but nothing was found, thankfully. But unfortunately, no clues nor prints were left behind for investigation…" She pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose, its lens shining due to the light. "Though it can't stop me from being worried. I wonder what has been happening. What were the reasons for those men to suddenly fire a gun? It can't be an accident… It'd be more suspicious if it is."

Zazie merely moaned in agreement to her words, his eyes finding her eyes that were looking at Emi's sleeping form on the bed. "There's nothing to worry about. She's just sleeping. She passed out. Probably from all the stress she felt." He explained, even if Aria hadn't said a word. She simply looked at him from the corner of her eye, before traveling her gaze back to Emi. She sighed through her nose. Surely, Zazie thought, she would experience another round of sleepless nights because of overthinking again. No doubt that the next day, he would perceive the dark circles around her eyes and the somnolent look she would give whenever she is stressed.

"They can't be one of Gauche—I mean, Noir's people, can they?" she asked, looking at him with sorrowful and hopeful eyes.

Zazie slightly frowned at the mention of the old Bee's name. His name never got ancient around the Hive—even Lag still talks about him, until now, but only as Noir. The name Gauche was gone, been replaced with Noir—but they're still the same people.

He shook his head no. "It isn't possible. They're long gone—we even saw it before our very eyes, right? How everything ended peacefully. How Lawrence had been defeated—"

"But what if they had a new leader?"

"It can't be," Zazie pressed on, "what are they truly after if they are at it again? The 'hearts'?" He snorted. "Please. They've been defeated by us. They would—_should _know better. I don't think it's possible, Sub-Master." He said in a flat voice, noticing how bored he sounded.

"… Then what is happening now?" she asked, and there's no mistaking the frustration in her voice. Zazie knew how professional she is, wherever and whenever. No matter what happens—even when Largo loses his cool—she would be the one to take over calmly and coolly, without missing a beat in what she does or says. But with working for her for four years, Zazie would, of course, see the times when she had had enough. (Especially when he was called to the office for complaints about letters being dirtied.) And one of those times is right now.

Zazie shrugged. "We all have no idea, sadly," he confessed. "But we have to find out about this, ASAP."

"Of course," Aria nodded. "What about you start tomorrow? Search for clues all over Amberground—travel to Yodaka if you have to! Just search for clues. Any! This has to end sooner or later, before everything gets worse." She ordered, standing up gracefully. "I don't care if they're after us or not. This also concerns the people of Amberground—if no one will find out why they fired that gun, then who will?"

Zazie watched as Aria made a beeline towards Emi's bed. She gently stroked her hair, and for a moment, Zazie saw how both of them looked alike. It was probably their blonde hair, or their stoic appearance. It sent shivers through Zazie's arms.

"Actually," Aria started with a whisper, "I'm starting to think that…"

She stayed silent, her voice fading as if the air had swallowed it. Zazie blinked curiously at her, wondering what she might suspect about the situation they were in. He must admit—he had no clue as to what was going on. Heck, he doesn't even know since when those men had been targeting them. _Lesson learned_, he thought to himself. He must be more vigilant. Everyone's awareness must be raised from now on.

He then realized that Aria hadn't uttered a word since then, and both of them were in their own worlds. He cleared his throat, causing her to jump in her spot. She snapped her head to him, a confused expression on her face. "You were saying?" he asked, a tinge of awkwardness in his voice.

Aria shook her head. "No—never mind,"

She started for the door, her heels clicking against the tiled floors. Zazie watched her reached for the doorknob, opening it ever-so-slightly, before saying: "Tomorrow, I will call for a meeting. Be prepared, Letter Bee Zazie." She didn't have to wait for an answer, for she left a second after, gently closing the door behind her.

**x—x—x**

"… Vasiolka…"

Zazie groaned as he felt the usual mild wetness of Vasiolka's nose sniffing his face. Her paw was heavy on his shoulder, but she removed it shortly afterwards. Zazie then took this opportunity to roll over on the other side, rejecting his dingo's wake-up call. But nonetheless, Vasiolka didn't give up, as she planted her paw on his shoulder once more, slightly shaking it awake. Zazie moaned over louder, very thick with sleepiness. He slowly and begrudgingly opened his eyes, turning his head to meet Vasiolka's electric blue eyes. She huffed her nose at him, causing Zazie to withdraw his head.

"Alright… I'm up, I'm up…" Zazie said lazily as he sat up in a snail's pace, ruffling his shambolic hair. He brought up his hand to cover his mouth as he yawned, wiping away the formed tears. He glanced at Vasiolka, who was obviously expecting her daily petting. Zazie chuckled hoarsely and ruffled Vasiolka's head, causing her to purr against his hand. Zazie then pushed the blanket away and stood up, stretching at the process. He moaned as his joints popped, soothing him. He sighed once again and made a beeline for the bathroom.

He blinked, eyes still filled with sleep, as he sluggishly peeled his clothes off. He sighed, thoughts of yesterday flooding his mind. _Ah… Sub-Master will call for a meeting today… wonder who she'll call for, _he thought, stepping inside the shower. He turned it on and winced at the coldness of the water running down his body. _Surely Emi will be there… Lag and Connor to, _he sighed, _us three again, plus the newbie. Hope she won't screw up_. He started to soap his body. _But she ain't that bad anyway… she knows something about delivering letters and handling with gaichuus, but not as skilled as the three of us. But it isn't like she'll be an instant star on her first year. Took me 2 whole years to actually master handling a shindanjuu… and that was just a rifle…! She holds a bow and an arrow… _

He shook his head, droplets of water falling everywhere around him, shaking his thoughts away. _Shut up shut up shut up get your shit together Zazie, _he reminded himself, rinsing himself off and stepping off the shower, ruffling the towel through his hair frustratingly. He dried the rest of his body and stepped out of the bathroom. He shooed Vasiolka away and started to put on his uniform.

Once he was done, he grabbed the cap and scarf from his coatrack and sluggishly went downstairs. He yawned in the process. He was even lazy to actually walk. Zazie then proceeded to the kitchen, raiding his refrigerator for food.

He never really had a vacation—only when Largo and Aria approves of it. (Of course Largo would want a vacation as well—it's Aria he has to deal with, considering her hardworking attitude. She wouldn't want a vacation—_what would you do between those days? Laze around? That's a lot of time wasted just by doing nothing! If you work, you won't waste any time, _she would say.) Zazie sighed. If their Sub-Master had been different, would they be getting vacations? Or even days off? Surely, they would. Unless it's the reincarnation of Aria.

He grabbed Vasiolka's bowl and poured in her share of milk, laying it on the floor afterwards. He needn't to call for Vasiolka, as she instantly stormed in the kitchen the moment Zazie put the bowl on the floor. Zazie chuckled, stroking his dingo, before standing up and pouring himself his own glass of milk. After finishing the glass of milk, Zazie put on his scarf and cap, and made a beeline towards the door, Vasiolka following suit.

The moment his door opened, several cats and kittens mobbed him, causing him to chuckle. Zazie knelt down and patted each and every one of them, muttering their names and sometimes even picking up some and stroking them gently. Vasiolka would also voluntarily take care of them, as if she was the mother of all those cats and kittens. Zazie smiled at the sight, not getting tired of it—of petting them and feeding them every day. It was something he'd always love to do.

"Right,"—he said as he stood up—"time for me to go. Don't wander around okay? I'll be back." He said to the pets as he walked away from his house, Vasiolka tailing behind him.

He clasped his hands behind his neck as he nonchalantly gazed around the streets. The whiff of fresh bread was dancing in the air, and vendors were advertising their goods. It has been a while since he last shopped, or even went to buy bread, which is why he'd been crashing at Connor's place or Lag's—but he knew he had to limit his visit since Sylvette's soup practically had no improvement in it whatsoever. He cringed at the thought of tasting it. Somehow, whenever her soup gets brought up, the flavor suddenly finds its way to his taste buds and screws his day all over again. He groaned in irritation.

He slightly shook his head to his thoughts of Sylvette's soup, turning his gaze back ahead, noticing that he was nearing the Hive. The crowd became thicker and the silence was long gone. It was only morning, but it was as if it was a usual fifteenth bell noise. Zazie groaned, resisting the urge to yell at everyone to keep quiet. He knew it was impossible.

His eyes perked up when he saw the familiar blonde curls of Emi among the crowd, Lag obviously beside her. He was also apparently doing all the talking. Zazie could tell just by seeing Lag doing weird gestures and laughing way too loud. He chuckled unknowingly. Lag would always be the talker, no matter what.

Zazie suddenly reminisced to when he observed Lag during his Bee exams. He cringed—pushing him that hard was something he never liked to remember. In fact, he wished he could burn that memory. He felt too guilty after doing that. Heck, it was the first he ever apologized for doing something wrong to someone—even if it was Aria, he didn't apologize—but putting that aside, he never expected Lag to be one of his closest friends. (Well, not that he expected Moc to be his friend either.)

Lag was a small fry—everyone knew that. But there was something in him that Zazie was protective over. Probably his heart—no, it was definitely that. Lag is too pure for the world. His heart is weak and strong at the same time, and Zazie doesn't know how that could be. But nonetheless, he cares for Lag a lot—it may not be obvious. He's something. He always reaches out, no matter who that person may be—even if his life is on the line. Which is stupid. He still won't get how Lag always cares about someone—be it a good guy or a bad one. He sighed. Lag is Lag, after all.

Only then did Zazie notice that he was already in front of the fountain near the Hive, almost bumping into it. He blinked as if it was his first time seeing a fountain, and walked around it, making a beeline for the door of the Hive. Once he held the handle, he opened it and went inside, his eyes scanning the area for his friends. He sighed through his nose and shoved his hands into his pockets, suddenly feeling too lazy to work.

His eyebrows raised as he felt a light tug on his sleeve. He muttered an incoherent 'ah,' turning his head to the side, finding Emi looking at him indifferently. Her hand was on his sleeve, still tugging him. _Okay that's weird…_ he thought, _I was alone a moment ago. _

"A—ah, Emi," he stammered, feeling uncomfortable at Emi's stare. He darted his eyes away from her and focused it on the other side of the room.

"The sub-master is waiting for you. Lag and Connor are there too." She simply said, putting her hand down.

Zazie then watched her walk away from him, not even glancing back at him. He slightly tiled his head at her, when she decided to look back at him. He flinched and blinked at her sudden action, rubbing his nape in sudden embarrassment.

"Well?" she simply said, and Zazie took this as a signal to follow suit.

_Damn what the hell was that? _He asked himself in frustration, digging his hands deeper in his pockets, frowning as his eyes traveled to the other side of the room. He sighed, slightly shaking his head as if waking his inner self up. His eyes once again landed on Emi's back, and immediately, he remembered the play that had happened just yesterday. How horrified everyone was, and how Emi had suddenly cried. How he comforted her.

She seemed too fragile to hold. She was small, but holding her, Zazie felt as if he was holding something other than porcelain or glass—something smaller and more fragile than those. Heck, she was even more fragile than those—feeling her shoulders shake and hearing her whimpers. He admits—it created a crack on his heart. Just a crack. It still wasn't enough to penetrate through his heart.

He blinked at her, and he suddenly came to a realization that—she didn't thank him—she acted as if nothing had happened just the day before today. Girls usually still act melodramatic after they cry, don't they? But Emi didn't cry again. Heck, she didn't even frown or stare off into space—not even for a moment! It's like she had moved on already—but from what? From being targeted? It's hard to even grasp that kind of fact.

"Sub-Master Aria told you beforehand that there was a meeting," Emi bluntly said out of nowhere, causing Zazie to blink and revert his gaze towards her.

He planted his hand on his nape and squeezed it. "Ah… well, I woke up kinda late."

"I see." She said indifferently, giving him a small nod in acknowledgement.

As soon as the duo were in front of the room where Aria was waiting, they wasted no time in getting in. They both removed their caps out of respect as they both walked to where Lag and Connor were standing. Zazie gave Lag and Connor nods and they both smiled at him in return. He focused his attention to Aria and Largo. Expectedly, the air was serious and rigid. What they were going to talk about is no joke—even Largo isn't smoking on his piper and smiling his mischievous smile. His hands were clasped on his desk and his lips were curved into a straight line.

Aria cleared her throat, gaining all of their attention. "The reason why I called for the four of you today is to discuss about the… mishap that had happened yesterday. As Sylvette and Letter Bee Mia had reported, they spotted the four of you on one of the hallways of the Hive. Apparently, one of the men attempted to chase one of you, but wasn't successful in doing so, causing him to flee in action," she paused for a short moment, her eyes traveling on each and every one of them. "Now, the question is: who, or what, are they after? Clearly, they cannot attack the Hive for fun, am I right?"

Out of the corner of Zazie's eyes, the three other Bees nodded at Aria's statement. He stayed silent, lips pursed tight into a thin line. She was right—

"Ah! From what I remember yesterday, Sub-Master Aria, Emi had told us something about the men—that she knew about them!" Lag exclaimed in pure realization, and at that moment, all eyes were on her. Zazie noticed the dread flashing in her eyes. He inwardly shook his head at Lag's sentence.

"Ah, yes! She did tell us about that," Connor piped in.

Aria looked at Emi expectantly before asking: "Letter Bee Emi, is this true? Do you truly know about the men yesterday?"

Emi responded with a nod, hands clasped over her cap which was over her abdomen. "Yes, I know about them."

"Would you mind telling us how you knew about them and why you didn't report about it?"

"I was walking to the Hive one day when suddenly I saw one of them looking at me. He had a grin on his face, too."

"What did you do, then?"

"I ran away."

Zazie's lips twitched, stifling a chuckle at Emi's bluntness.

"Why did you not report it?"

"I didn't feel the need to report it. It didn't seem important yet. I felt the need to observe first before jumping into conclusions. I don't want things to end up with poor information and little proof."

Aria cleared her throat, adjusting her glasses. "I see…" she trailed off. "Well, we've picked up a piece in the puzzle. From here, I want the three of you—Letter Bees Zazie, Connor, and Lag—to look for more pieces," she instructed, eyes landing on the boys respectively. They then traveled to Emi. "As for you, Letter Bee Emi, I want you to stay hidden and aware of what's happening around you. It is clear that the men are targeting you. So from now on, you have to lay low. You cannot go out unless you are with one of these boys beside you."

Zazie blinked as Aria looked at him. "Letter Bee Zazie, I'm counting on you the most when it comes to eyeing after Letter Bee Emi."

"What? Why me?" He asked, obviously averse to look after Emi. "Why not Lag? He lives with her!"

"That is true, but Letter Bee Zazie, admit it—you are the toughest out of you three," Aria said with a sigh. "You can beat the men head-first without any hesitation. You can run after them if you want to, planning a strategy beforehand. You think and do at the same time. That is very much needed right now."

He sighed. "… Fine,"

"Excuse me, Sub-Master, but what are we gonna do now? I mean, yes, we should search for clues, but how do we do it when only very few things happened around here?"

Zazie nodded in agreement. Lag _did _make sense. His eyes then traveled to Aria, who seemed to have the same look of realization on her face. "Good point, Letter Bee Lag," she said slowly, apparently thinking of countless answers to Lag's question. "The safest thing to do right now is to continue on with your usual routine of deliveries, but with raised awareness. Assume that the enemy knows of you and that they are following you." She said, and all of them replied with a stiff nod. "Chasing after them instantly without any idea of what or who they are after is simply reckless. Acting normal would lead them into formulating another plan to infiltrate the Hive once more to get what they want. And hopefully, once they do, we'll get to the bottom of things."

"So, we should expect that they would attack the Hive one day?" Connor questioned.

Aria nodded. "That's correct, Letter Bee Connor."

"Well, that's all for today. You are all dismissed." Largo Lloyd said, the pipe now in his mouth, his face clearly relaxed. "Remember what your Sub-Master said: keep a low profile, but be wary."

"Yes, Director," the four Bees replied simultaneously, taking their leave.

The moment the door closed behind all of them, the three boys heaved a sigh of distress, except for Emi, who simply eyed them indifferently. Zazie then returned the blank stare she was giving them. She blinked. He frowned, running his hand over his hair before putting his cap on.

"So, what now?" Connor asked.

Zazie inhaled deeply and scratched his cheek. "We should probably go do our deliveries now," he said slowly, feeling unsure too of what to do next.

"Yeah, that'll be the most okay thing to do now," Lag agreed. "But what about Emi? She can't set out alone, right?"

All of them eyed Emi in realization. "Oh, right…" Zazie said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm okay by myself," Emi protested lightly. "I have Shiro with me."

"No, you're not 'okay by yourself', Emi. Didn't you just hear what Aria said? And haven't you grasped what happened yesterday? You're being targeted. _You. _Not me, not Lag, not Connor, and definitely not anybody else but you. And what's worse is that we don't even know where the hell those goons are hiding. So don't you dare say that you're okay by yourself because you're obviously not. Okay?" Zazie reprimanded, constantly pointing at Emi and gesturing his arms around, his eyebrows furrowed and lips carved into a deep frown. He then crossed his arms and looked away, eyes on the ground. He sighed.

"Don't worry Emi, you can team up with me and Niche!" Lag suggested, followed by Niche's and Steak's enthusiastic approvals.

He then turned around and headed for the stairs going down. He inwardly facepalmed himself. _Empress, what is going on, Zazie? What the hell is wrong what that mouth of yours? You just scolded her like this overprotective boyfriend or something! What's more stupid than that? _He groaned out loud, throwing his head back in frustration. _But you're just being a good friend. Aren't good friends supposed to worry about another friend's well-being? _Another voice inside him spoke. Great, now he was out of his mind.

_Shyeah right, but scolding at your girl-space-friend like an overprotective and clingy boyfriend isn't a part of being a good friend who worries about the well-being of another friend, _he protested, feeling the embarrassment drown his man-pride. _Yeah they do. Look, it's just like you getting mad at Lag for being too stubborn, but just replace that Lag and make it Emi. Now, aren't you being a friend? _

He rolled his eyes and groaned once again, walking towards the fountain and leaning on it, cocking his head upward so he could gaze at the everlasting star-lit sky. He closed his eyes and breathed for a short moment, before returning his gaze to the Hive in front of him. "Why does it matter anyway?" He quietly asked himself, shaking his head. He smiled some and turned his attention to Vasiolka, who was gazing up at him. "Alright Vasiolka, time to kill some gaichuus."

"Ah, Zazie!" Lag's voice echoed throughout the streets. Zazie's eyes traveled to Lag, who had Emi and Niche behind him. "Where are you gonna head off to?"

He shrugged. "Elsewhere… to where the gaichuu territories are, I guess. I'm not really in the mood for deliveries."

"Oh, great! What do you think about joining Emi and I? We're heading to Heineken for our delivery," he invited, voice filled with so much excitement. "So, what do you say?"

Zazie tucked his hands in his pockets and shifted his weight on his right foot, contemplating. "Heineken, huh? There's a gaichuu territory on the way, right? 'Cause if there is, then I'll come with."

"There's a gaichuu territory named Busch Lager just a few kilometers away from town. A road was made from the forest going to the town, so walking on foot could be considered an option," Emi informed, catching his and Lag's attention. _She knew her geography_, he thought. _She probably reads a lot, considering how her favorite place to be in is the library_. "You can get off at the gaichuu territory and come back here or see us in Heineken after exterminating some gaichuus."

"Eh, I'll just see you guys in town. It's nearer anyway," He shrugged. "By the way, we might sleep overnight there if it's too late to return here. I don't want any regrets or bruises when we get back here."

"Alright then, let's go!" Lag exclaimed, gesturing the two to follow him, Niche already racing to where they could find carriages. But suddenly Lag ceased walking, and turned to Emi and Zazie. "I almost forgot… I must go see Sylvette first before going on this delivery. I just want to let her know that we might be away for a while. Wanna come, Emi?" he offered, to which she nodded. "Okay. So, Zazie, we'll go from here."

Zazie then nodded. Emi then started to walk towards Lag when Zazie grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him, whispering: "Stay near me or Lag, or even Niche. And never _ever _let yourself lag behind. You better be wary." In a very hush and alert voice. He received a nod from Emi, and afterward, she made her way towards Lag.

Quietly, Zazie watched Emi's back: observing how her hair bounces a little with each step she takes, how her hands can't stay in only one place (so far, her hands have been intertwined behind her back, clasped in front of her, limp beside her, and folded across her chest for the past minute), how she would constantly tilt her head up to look at the sky, and how she would sigh repeatedly in random moments. He sighed at himself. Was he really observing all those intently, or did he just do it out of sheer boredom? He really couldn't tell.

* * *

**A/N: **So _MangaFox, _surprisingly, had already finished translating the scans until chapter 95! Just imagine my shock when I decided to drop by for updates on the site! (And the 2 consecutive nights of sleeping at 2 in the morning. I was that hooked.) And goodness it had gotten a lot intense! No spoilers, don't worry. But goodness! (A little spoiler though: they all grew. And Zazie grew taller... and more handsome TEEHEE.)

Anyway chapter 13 is almost publishable! I just have to retrace and rethink about my plot since I just reread all my chapters and well... I found no plot in those whatsoever. Except for chapter 3. And that was it. The next chapter that followed the plot was chapter 10 and 11. But anyway I'll get to the bottom of things.

How did you find this chapter? Review or PM me if you have any comments, suggestions (which would be of great help), critiques, and the like.


	13. Midnight

**Secrecy**

**Chapter Thirteen – Midnight**

**A/N: **Hey guys! So another seemingly filler chapter in here... Gah, I promise I'll update a chapter with the freaking plot in it (although this really is a part of the plot but agh)! Hope you enjoy!

**WARNING: **May contain curses.

**DISCLAIMER: **_Kleia does not own Letter Bee—only her OCs. _

* * *

"—up, Emi. We're here," a foggy yet familiar voice said, shaking her awake.

She blinked some before jerking away from something strangely bony. She blinked multiple times at her surroundings, before her gaze fell upon Lag's familiar blurry white hair. She rubbed her eyes some before letting a yawn escape her lips. She covered her mouth. Afterward, she blinked the tears away, scanning the area once more, finally noticing some buildings and stalls and people. And a missing Zazie.

"… Where's Zazie?" was what she first asked. Why didn't she ask the usual, "We're here?" Why did she ask that?

Lag smiled at her. "Zazie went off already by the time we passed Busch Lager. He said he'll be back around the eighteenth bell just in time for supper. Ah...! He also told me to remind you to stay near me or Niche, since we'll never know, right?" he said, standing up from his seat and stretching a bit. He woke Niche up gently, and just for a second, Lag looked like Niche's older brother. Emi simply watched Lag shake Niche's shoulder gently, mumbling things just as softly.

She then stood up. "I'll go down now," she said, earning an "okay" from Lag.

So she went down the carriage with a small leap, Shiro following behind. Her eyes scanned the serene town, head turning left and right, watching the people come and go each shops and bakeries—countless of them. It was as vibrant as Yuusari Central. She breathed in and out, inhaling the scent of cool air and a small whiff of fresh bread from different directions. She looked behind to find Lag hopping down the carriage, a grumpy-looking Niche in tow. Lag, however, didn't seem to mind the glares Niche gave him, as he cheerily presented the carriage man the fee for their ride.

After receiving the change, Lag walked towards Emi, the carriage already riding off. He fished out the stack of letters to be delivered, pulling out the first one on the pile. His eyes scanned the back of the letter. "Our first delivery is… down Fey road, to Mr. Alabaster," he read out loud, looking at Emi afterward. He slightly turned his back around to start delivering the letters. "Well, let's—"

"What if… we split up the letters," Emi suddenly said, "so that we can finish earlier?"

Lag turned his head to look at her, blinking. He contemplated for a moment, bringing his index finger up to his chin while looking up. He hummed for a short while before giving Emi a small yet worried smile. "That would be a good idea Emi," he started, but Emi knew better. She didn't bring her own hopes up. "But you're in grave danger right now! So I have to do my job and protect you! So…" he dramatically pistol-pointed at her, causing her to blink at Lag weirdly. "You have no choice but to come with me to deliver these letters! You can't be far away from me, too! We have to stay together! Okay?" he exclaimed quite a bit loud, that almost everyone nearby heard what he said.

"Aww, that's cute…"

"What an adorable couple."

"Hey, you two! Why don'cha stop flirtin' and get on wid' deliverin' those letters, eh?" a man called out, snickering. He was obviously drunk, judging by the two bottles of alcohol he held. There was more on the table, courtesy of his friends, who laughed along with him.

Both she and Lag then diverted their attention to the circle of drunken friends, who were busying themselves with their drinking and laughing. She glanced at Lag, who was flushing in embarrassment. "B-but mister…! We—we're not—we're not f-flirting! I—we're just doing—delivering our letters…!"

"Deliverin' shmeliverin'! Just marry each other already!"

Lag inhaled sharply at the comment, getting redder and redder by the second. He still for what seemed like forever, until Niche waved her hair in front of him, snapping him out of his trance. He blinked multiple times before smiling at Niche, his blush slowly fading. "Come on, let's go deliver these letters." He simply said to Niche, after glancing at Emi and grinning at her. He then turned around to walk to their destination—Fey road.

x—x—x

"Phew! That was the last of them!" Lag exclaimed as he and Niche collapsed on the bench by the town square. He took off his cap and fanned himself with it, sighing in content. Emi blinked at the sudden eye contact she shared with Lag. "Emi, why don't you sit?" he offered, and she simply shook her head no. Although, she did feel a tad tired.

"Oh, just in time! It's already the eighteenth bell. Zazie might be waiting for us," Lag stated, looking over at the clock store right across where they sat. Emi looked over as well, and was amazed at the different kinds and sizes of clocks available—all of them telling the same time. "Hey, Emi, we should buy some bread for supper. I bet Zazie would like some." He suggested with a smile, looking up at Emi. She responded with a small nod.

So they went to the nearest bakery they could find, admiring the town as they did so. Emi took deep breaths, drawing in the delightful spoors of freshly baked pastries and flowers of different kinds. She has never felt this peaceful since that ill-fated day. The rows of stalls and shops never failed to catch her attention, as she felt contented just by passing by them. She clasped her hands behind her back and silently, she hummed to a tune her mother used to sing to her when she was little. Her eyes traveled to her left and right, blinking at the varieties of stores. She felt at peace.

Lag tugged her once he saw an eye-catching bakery. He dragged her towards it, giving her the time to scan the bakery—it was guileless and quite small, but it gave off a convivial aura. A fleshy woman with a soft face stood by the counter, looking as approachable as her bakery. Emi gave a small smile at the sight. She felt as if she was coming home from a big mission, the aroma of the newly baked bread made by her mother inviting her in.

"Good evening, miss," Lag greeted, earning a smile from the woman. "May we have five loaves of bread? And, um…" he trailed off, presumably scanning the glass display in front of him which held different breads, cookies, and cupcakes. Emi swore she saw drool coming down Lag's lips as his eyes gazed the display. "Which of these do you sell best?" he asked instead, apparently unable to decide which is which.

"Oh, my costumers always argue over my cookies. Why don't you try one?" the woman said, her voice as docile as a whisper.

"Okay!" Lag cheerfully exclaimed. ("Niche wants one too! And Steak!" Niche shouted, hopping beside Lag to peek over the counter.)

The woman chuckled at the two, glancing at Emi, as she bent down to get the cookies displayed on the glass display. She placed them over the counter and picked two cookies to give to Lag and Niche, who instantly took it and gobbled down. She smiled at the amazed and delighted hums of the duo, her gaze once again traveling to Emi. She took a cookie from the tray and presented it to her.

"Don't you want one, dear?"

Emi was about to shake her head no, when Lag spoke up: "Yeah, Emi! This is the best cookie I've ever tasted!" he cried in genuine delight, mouth still quite full of the cookie bits, which made some fly out of his mouth as he talked. But still, Emi shook her head. She wasn't very fond of confectioneries. She could stomach some, but she wouldn't revel in it as much as the others would.

"I don't like sweets that much," she then explained, her voice quite dry. She needed a drink.

Lag nodded in understanding, before turning to the lady behind the counter. "I'll have a bag, then. And the five loaves please," he courteously requested, receiving a kind nod from the woman. "Oh, and if you have some cheese, it would be nice! Thank you, lady!"

While Lag was waiting for his bread and cupcakes, Emi decided to look over to the entrance of the town, which wasn't too far away from where she stood. Her eyes scanned the entrance for a familiar Letter Bee uniform walking around, a blank panther in tow. She narrowed her eyes to get a better view. It took a few people stepping aside obliviously for her to finally spot Zazie, walking aimlessly around the town, looking at the different shops.

"Thanks again!" Lag exclaimed, causing Emi to snap her head to where Lag was, and finding him walking gleefully towards her. "Let's look for Zazie now. He should be here already,"

She nodded. "He is. There," she stated, gesturing (but not pointing) to where she had found Zazie, who was still there, walking flaccidly. Before she knew it, Lag was already jogging to where Zazie was, Niche following behind. She decided to simply walk briskly, brushing swiftly and flawlessly past people, who glanced back at her, giving her odd looks. Shiro was slightly ahead of her when they reached Zazie and Lag—both of them eating a cookie.

"Man, this is good stuff," Zazie complimented after swallowing down the whole cookie, now getting his second one. "Where did you get this? Man, Connor's missing out. I bet he'll buy five bags of these… probably even more." He chuckled, popping the pastry in his mouth, closing his eyes so as to relish the sweet taste of the cookie. With that in sight, Emi suddenly had this slight urge to at least try a bite of the cookie. But of course, to her, no means no.

"Yeah! Remember what happened to him back then? He was addicted!" Lag exclaimed, smiling at the memory.

Zazie snorted. "He even had this girly crush on one of the nuns…" he trailed off, chuckling. When suddenly, his eyes met Emi's. His grin faded, and he blinked. She blinked back. He broke the contact and turned to Lag. "So anyway, are we staying the night or what?"

He shrugged. "I don't know… it _is _still quite early, but…" his voice faded. He turned to Emi, an expectant and somewhat hopeful look plastered on his lineaments. "What about you, Emi?"

She blinked at him. And suddenly, she felt this pressure resting heavily on her shoulders. Decision-making wasn't in her list of strengths. But this might be a good opportunity to improve that weakness. She _did _feel a tad tired, but it was still bearable. But she didn't want to go home just yet—not when her mind and being is away from the dilemma she's facing in Yuusari. She wanted to stay. Even for just a night. She wanted to feel free. To feel as if there were no worries. As if there were no creepy hooded men hunting her down for no valid reason yet. She wanted to explore. To go on late night adventures. To try and go around the town. She doesn't want to go home.

"I don't want to go home yet," she finally admitted, earning slight looks of disbelief from Zazie and Lag. She disregarded them. "I think… we should stay the night. I don't want to go home…" she trailed off, slightly pointing her feet inwards, avoiding Lag's and Zazie's wide-eyed stares. She decided that the ground was the most interesting thing to look at, at the moment.

"… Yeah, I kinda don't wanna go just yet…" Zazie said in a somewhat low voice, and Emi imagined him adjusting his scarf so he could hide his nose in it, eyes drifting to the ground. "I'm beat from all those gaichuus. Got mobbed too."

"Good thing you aren't injured," Lag said.

"Just some bruises… they were tougher than ever. Strange…" he mumbled. "So, where to next?"

"We should probably have supper. Then let's look for an inn to stay the night." Lag suggested, to which Emi and Zazie nodded.

Zazie then turned his back. "Right. So let's go. I'm hungry and sleepy."

x—x—x

It was midnight, and Emi still couldn't get her forty winks. She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing in deeply and exhaling just as well. She opened her eyes. Stared at the ceiling until the ceiling was the only thing visible in her sight. The rest in her peripheral vision turned black. Her eyes were getting tired. So she blinked. The ceiling turned back to normal. She turned to face the other side of the room, where Lag and Niche slept, side by side, as usual. They both slept soundly, and she could tell that the one snoring softly was Steak.

She blinked again, and faced the window, where countless stars gleamed, helping the artificial sun illume the midnight sky. She sighed through her nose. This is what she has been doing for the past sleepless hours—close eyes, open, stare, close eyes, open, stare some more, breathe. There were times when she would sit up and scan the room, as if there were suspicious things crawling in the night (which she doubts). There were times when she would absent-mindedly stare at Zazie's sleeping form on the couch—he ordered Lag, Niche, and her to sleep on the beds for they were all younger than him (except for Niche), so he needed to be responsibly mature—and would simply reminisce the time when they both slept in one room, but on separate beds. It was a night like this when it happened. And now, she found herself pondering on that night once again.

She sighed. Sat up. But this time, she decided to stand up. She couldn't take the restlessness anymore. She wanted a stroll. So she went to the rack, grabbed her Letter Bee blazer, and wore it over her nightgown, which Sylvette had packed for her voluntarily. She looked down and frowned at how useless the blazer was—it didn't cover much, since it only reached her low waist. But at least it still covered some.

So she took a deep breath, hugging her blazer tighter around her, before making her way toward the door, slightly looking back—

"… Hey… where are you going?"

Zazie. She must've woken him up. But she couldn't recall a time she made at least a little noise. She was as silent as a burglar in the night. She slowly turned to look to where Zazie was—still lying on the couch. She couldn't answer.

"… Are you going back… to Yuusari?" he asked, his voice hoarse and thickly laced with sleep. He sounded like a little boy asked his mother where she was going after falling asleep to her reading a bedtime story. She found that quite lovable.

She shook her head, but she knew better. "I wanted to go out for a… walk," she answered in a very hushed voice, hoping that Lag, too, wouldn't wake up. Zazie was already a crowd.

He sat up, quite immediately. "All alone?" he asked, voice growing louder and filled with disbelief. She simply blinked and decided that it was best not to reply. She knew how short-tempered Zazie was. He sighed lowly and ran his hand through his hair. He shuffled so he can sit at the edge of the couch. "… Well… if it's a walk you want, then it's a walk you'll get… but you can't just do that by yourself. So… I'm coming with," he said, standing up and walking over clumsily towards her. A small smile was beginning to twitch from the corners of her mouth. She had never seen him this clumsy before.

"And don't you dare say you're okay by yourself." He said, grabbing his jacket from the coat rack, slipping it on.

She blinked, shocked that Zazie was able to remember what she told him just this morning. She didn't even consider telling him that she was fine on her own. And now that she thought about it, it didn't even pop in her mind to tell him that. She felt embarrassed. Is it because—

"… And what the hell are you wearing?" he narrowed his eyes at her, making her quite self-conscious. She fought the urge to hug her blazer tighter. "Is that…"—he shook his head—"c'mere… take that off… good thing I brought an extra…"

So she took a step towards him as she removed her blazer, simply wrapping it around her arms after, and watched him remove his jacket from her peripheral vision. She casted her eyes on the floor as his fingers brushed against her shoulders, the fabric of the jacket making her back warmer. He had draped the jacket carefully over her, and this made her flush. Her hands turned into ice while her cheeks turned into molten lava. And she wondered how it could be.

She slightly flinched at the coldness of Zazie's fingers at the back of her neck, gently pulling the bundle of her hair out of the draped jacket. She unconsciously hugged his jacket tighter. It smelled good. It smelled of mint and rain water. Roses bloomed on her cheeks once again. She sighed through her nose. Closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. Just what was going on?

"Are you still feeling cold?"

She snapped her head to where Zazie was, and found him slipping on his extra jacket. She was still hugging his jacket. She let it go, and shook her head. "N-no… I'm good," she answered, avoiding his gaze. The way he asked it was too gentle, too concerned. Too caring. She wasn't used to it. Was Zazie still sleepy? But something deep down inside of her liked it. Liked how kind he was. How concerned and selfless he was. She liked this Zazie? The Zazie who was gentle and kind? It _was _something new—no. She always knew Zazie was kind. She even told him so, once. But what was it?

"You really need that walk of yours. You looked kinda troubled for a second there," she looked at Zazie, who was already behind her, walking to the door. She followed him. "Let's go, then."

So he opened the door, gently, quietly, so as not to disturb Lag's and Niche's slumber. Once Emi noticed that he was holding out the door for her, she stepped outside, into the hall, looking left and right. She started walking down the hallway once she knew that Zazie had shut the door. She never noticed how warm the corridors were, or maybe it was the warm light that illumed the entire hall. She kept in mind to take silent steps, afraid that someone might spot them sneaking out—even though she knew that only Lag and Niche would care if they _did_ catch them sneaking out—until they reached the bottom of the wooden staircase.

She looked behind at Zazie, who gave her a look, which can almost be read as: "Go. Just walk. I'll follow behind." So she did. She walked until she went out of the inn, the cold midnight air gently caressing her skin, al dente and fresh. It felt quite good against her skin. Her curly locks slightly danced with the soft breeze, along with her night gown, in which she fisted the skirt to keep it from climbing up higher.

"You should've worn pants… or shorts," Zazie said from behind her.

She turned her head to face him, grabbing the flying bundle of hair and holding it against her shoulder, holding onto Zazie's jacket. "I don't have a pair," she answered, simply blinking at him. "Sylvette packed these..." she added, quite embarrassed. He bobbed his head up and down, and trudged forward, giving her a signal to follow.

Once she was walking side by side with him, he suddenly asked: "So, where to?"

She blinked up at him. "Huh?"

He looked at her. "Where are we going?"

Oh. She looked at the ground, at her feet, which were taking small and slow steps. "Nowhere…" she mumbled, clasping her hands behind her back absent-mindedly. She hoped he heard her. "I can't sleep. So… I wanted to walk around to make myself tired." She said, sighing afterwards. She frowned: she strangely felt tired. But not bodily. Probably emotionally. Which is a lot worse than being physically tired.

"Are you sure 'bout that?" he asked, causing her to look at him. He looked at her. "You may say that you're not tired, but maybe you are. I mean…" he closed his eyes, in deep thought, as he scratched his cheek with his index finger, "how do I put this…" he muttered. He suddenly looked at her once again, making her blink. "It's all in your head, I guess." He concluded, shrugging.

She sighed openly, thinking that Zazie won't mind. "… I don't know…" she muttered. "I feel… I just don't know what I need but I know something's missing." She admitted, absent-mindedly covering herself more in Zazie's jacket as if it would protect her from what she was feeling. As if it were her shell.

"Just try and not think about it, then," he suggested. She nodded, and decided to lift her head and look around her. It was serene. There was nobody else but the two of them walking down the street, other than the small groups of drunkards scattered about, thoughtlessly walking about the paths, laughing like there was no tomorrow. She then focused on gazing up instead, the glistening stars in the heavens never ceasing to mesmerize her. Oh, how she wanted to just fly away and be with those twinkling stars. Unintentionally, she sighed. She then dipped her head down, since her neck was already aching from looking up too long.

And she didn't know why, but she lifted her head up and gazed at Zazie. He was looking at her. Was he staring at her the whole time? While she was looking up, was he looking at her? Her breath got caught in her throat. She unconsciously let out a short gasp. It was starting to beat fast fast fast: her heart. She swallowed. Her stomach was tightening, as if something was fluttering inside. Is this what people call 'butterflies' in one's stomach? What she had been reading on books—her best friend—was it happening to her? It was getting warm and he was still looking at her and her at him and—

He reached out and wrapped his arms around her so suddenly that she couldn't comprehend what was happening right away but she knew he was wrapping her in an embrace. His hands which brushed against her shoulder felt like vines crawling upon her skin, enfolding her tightly, firmly, securely into a warm embrace. He drew her closer to him until his chin rested atop of her head. And she knew: it will be okay. She was safe. She knew she wouldn't fall into the depths of her unexplainable midnight thoughts.

It all dispersed—the rapid beating of her heart the fluttering the eternal bothersome thoughts whirling around in her head like a pirouette—it all vanished into thin air, as if the black hole had swallowed it all up. And she felt safer then before. She felt as if they will never come back. Not at all again. So she collapsed against Zazie's warmth, making it her bolster. The moment she did, his arms wrapped themselves tighter—yet still gentle, and she didn't know how that could be—around her shoulders. She was being pulled even closer to him and oh, how she felt so so so calm so protected so—

"… Maybe… this is what you needed…" he softly whispered, chin still resting on her head. She felt him shrug lightly. "I just figured… so don't jump into conclusions, okay? It's—it's not like I…" he sighed, and she remained silent against his chest, a small smile growing on her lips. "Never mind."

And she, too, slowly wrapped her arms around his torso, her fingers brushing against the fabric of his jacket, feeling it so very deeply. "Thank you," she managed to mutter out loud, audible enough for Zazie to hear. She fluttered her eyes closed, as the dawdling and steady beat of his heart soothed her entire being. She sighed lowly through her nose, simply letting the feeling of the moment consume her—it was as if flowers blossomed everywhere on her body, outgrowing the weeds and the dead flowers.

"I know now why you're so restless," he said out of the blue, catching Emi's attention. She attempted to look up, to get a glimpse of his face—what face he's making right now—but her endeavor was opposed by Zazie, as his hand started to run itself through her blonde locks, past the tangles, and return to the top once again, the cycle repeating. Roses once again started blooming on her face. "But even though… you should still take care of yourself… because there are people helping you out, you know? So… just don't think about it too deeply, especially if it affects you this much. Okay?"

She nodded against his chest—

His hands, which were stroking her hair, were suddenly on her shoulders, pushing her away from him. She gasped lightly and instantly, her eyes traveled to his own. His grip on her shoulders tightened, and his stare intensified, sending shivers down her spine.

"I promise you won't feel a thing."

* * *

**A/N****: **Gasp! HE SAID THE SUMMARY! *gaspy face here* That always entertains me: when the character/s say/s a line in the summary (or probably the whole summary). It really amuses me.

So chapter 14 is in the works! (But I am having a slight writer's block again... since I poured all my writing juices when I finalized the ending of this story.) I really do hope you're enjoying my story... because okay the plot is now really about to start. (I should really improve on my plot writing skills...) Anyway, remember when I said that this is gonna have a sequel? (Refer to A/N; Chapter 1) Yeah, well, I'm kinda planning out how it'll work. So I'll let you stay tuned. I'm kinda doubting now if this'll have a sequel or not, ahaha.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed!

**UPDATE (070616): **Well... okay. Tbh, I never knew I hadn't posted this chapter yet, haha. It had just been rotting away in my Doc Manager section (until it only had 25 days left for deletion) until I was about to update Secrecy for Chapter 14. Damn, am I forgetful.


	14. A Rush of Adrenaline

**Secrecy**

**Chapter Fourteen – A Rush of Adrenaline **

**A/N: **I am back! School had just started, and while summer break was on, I just had a serious case of Writer's Block, and just wrote for Voodoo Doll most of my days. Anyway, I'm now back on track and now have a renewed sense of plot, haha. (I'm basically inspired atm, but I don't know how long it'll last.)

THE _REAL _PLOT IS STARTING, FOLKS! Hope you enjoy! (Yes, most of the chapters here in this story are just some pieces of shit purposed to focus on pointless things such as pairings and plays.)

**WARNING: **May contain curses. **Long chapter ahead.**

**DISCLAIMER: **_Kleia does not own Letter Bee—only her OCs._

* * *

It was a dream, right? He really did dream _all _of it… right? The walking down the cold and lifeless streets of Heineken with Emi, him giving her his jacket before even starting to walk, him watching her look up at the starry night sky like a right idiot, and him—the one and only Zazie Winters—_pulling _Emi—_the_ Emi; the newbie—into an _embrace_ in the middle of the street, at Empress-knows-what-time it was, and even having the nerve to stroke her (soft) hair like how he does with all of his pets back at home and making a lame excuse which was along the lines of: "Maybe this is what you needed," Ugh. If he clearly remembered everything that had happened last night, then it certainly was real. He felt his insides collapse.

_Empress, take me now. Take me far away from this shitty carriage. Please. Or rather, just make some gaichuus miraculously appear from out of nowhere to just eat all my heart. Just me—not Lag and everybody else. Just me, _he thought, the embarrassment from the night before swallowing up his pride, resulting in the hotness of his cheeks and the imagery of himself being as red as an apple. He groaned lightly, covering his entire flushing face with his hands and rubbing it against them in pure frustration, grumbling under his breath.

"Zazie… are you okay?" He looked up and saw Lag, looking at him with a hint of concern, but mostly, he was stifling a laugh. And he was terrible at hiding it. He could see how Lag clearly bit his lower lip to keep himself from laughing. "You—you seem… frustrated over there." He added, but now, he was able to control it more. Zazie inwardly rolled his eyes at Lag, when his eyes accidentally landed on Emi's for a second. She was looking at him with her head slightly tilted to the side.

"I—yeah… I'm okay," He averted his eyes and cupped his chin, resting his elbow by the window ledge. He sighed through his nose, observing the scenery before him—basically a rocky desert like what most of Amberground is made of. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them once again, noticing how Lag and Emi have been conversing to each other all this time, with Niche butting in at times, along with Steak. They've been getting closer, so it seems. And maybe Emi was beginning to warm up to him. Probably to Sylvette too.

_She's warming up to you too_, said that voice once again at the back of his mind. But he didn't react that much to it. Was it true? Was she really beginning to soften towards him and everyone else? Well, she _did _show her tears in front of him, Lag, and Connor. That showed a sign of being comfortable with your peers, right? _Yeah, as well as hugging you back when you hugged her— _

And he couldn't deny it—he blushed. He felt it: all the blood rushing up to his face. He really felt it. Up to his ears, it was warm as hell. And his neck began to sweat and now he's about to explode. He felt like exploding. He sighed sharply through his nose. _Calm down, Zazie. Just don't think about it, and it will be gone, _he consoled himself, breathing in evenly and exhaling just as well. He closed his eyes, letting the cool air fan down his burning face.

_She was soft and fragile to hold… it's like she was about to break if I hug her tighter—_

Wait. He just thought about that the other day. When he hugged her. He absent-mindedly ran his hand through his face. _Empress, now I feel like I'm looking for an excuse to hold her now… _He grumbled a few words, which were incoherently in between "I" and "pervert." He sighed.

_And her hair smelled… good. Like flowers… maybe she was the one who smelled good—_no. Stop. Stop. Stop. Just stop thinking about it. Stop thinking about her and to hell with what she smelled like. He was getting warmer by the passing seconds and he shut his eyes tighter until it began to hurt so when he opened them, he saw white specks floating about his vision. But the blood rushing up to his face didn't stop.

He was such a pervert.

"Zazie…?" It was her. "Your face looks a bit red."

Shit. Shit. "Ah…" _What was that, fool? And why is your little heart beating so stupidly fast? _His inner voice had asked him, causing his eyebrows to twitch some.

"Zazie, are you sure you're okay? You're a little… weird today," Lag asked him, and without even looking, Zazie could sense how concerned he is—and how he was about to laugh his guts off—at his state. "Are you sick?"

"Does Lag want Niche to lick Zazie?"

"Niche, I don't think Zazie's physically injured… I mean, he's not bleeding. See?"

"But why is Zazie like an apple?"

"He probably has f—"

"I'm okay, I'm okay," he suddenly intervened, looking at Lag and Niche—then at Emi, but it was only in a fraction of a second—causing them to look back at him in slight shock. "I was just… thinking…" he reasoned out, his voice evidently fading by the end of the sentence.

Lag was his best friend—aside from Connor—he knew that. But right now, he thought better about telling Lag how he and Emi hugged the night before and now he was clearly flustered regarding the—rather intimate—embrace. And on the plus side, he had enough man-pride in him to keep him from letting the cat out the bag—whether Emi was with them or not. But that aside, he was very grateful that Lag simply understood and nodded. He even continued his conversation with Emi to boot. He quietly sighed in relief, once again watching the view before him, as they were on their way back to Yuusari Central.

x—x—x

As they got off the carriage, with Lag paying the man the right amount for their trip, Zazie's eyes scanned the area as if it was his first time being in Yuusari Central. He stuffed his hands inside his pockets, breathing in the usual scent of the Yuusari air—cold and new. He tucked his mouth inside his scarf, huffing out some before turning back to Lag, who was already walking towards him, Niche tailing behind.

"Okay, let's head to the Hive now and see if there's anything new," Lag told them with a smile, already walking ahead of them.

Zazie and Emi followed suit. "When we're done, Lag, we'll grab lunch at your house," Zazie said, a cheeky lopsided smile plastered on his face. He then looked away and pouted, as he planted his hands at the back of his neck. "I'm already hungry as I speak…" he muttered, a low grumble immediately escaping from his stomach. Hopefully, nobody had heard the embarrassing noise emerge from his organ.

"We just ate breakfast many minutes ago," Emi butted in, earning Zazie's attention.

He glanced at her, blinking. "Yeah, well…" he looked away and blushed some, the events from the night before instantly reoccurring in his mind. The imaginings were enough to make some more blood rush up to his cheeks. "It wasn't enough…"

"Is that so…" she muttered, ending the conversation quite rapidly.

Lag then turned around and continued on walking backwards, a grin on his face. "We should also tell Connor to drop by!" He exclaimed, earning an enthusiastic nod from Zazie. His expression then turned into that of an animatedly sickly one, his cheeks puffing out and his tongue sticking out in disgust. "But we should buy some extra food in case she makes that horrible soup…"

Zazie chuckled. "How does some bread sound? And cheese?" he suggested, a fond smile slowly curving on his lips. "I haven't seen Gramps for some time now. I wonder how he's doing…" he muttered to himself, when suddenly he perked up, remembering something. "Oh! Sandra just made some new kind of bread. We should check it out. I bet it tastes awesome."

Lag's features lit up. "Really?" He turned to Niche, who, apparently, hadn't been listening, as she was perched on the roof of a small house. "Niche! Did you hear? Aunt Sandra had just made a new kind of bread! Do you wanna try it later?" Lag exclaimed, his hands cupped beside his mouth to project his voice, making it even audible for Niche to hear.

"Niche will always want to eat Mama Sandra's bread!" She exclaimed, hopping off to another roof as soon as she spoke.

"I'm so excited! I know it'll taste delicious," Lag giddily said, causing Zazie to chuckle.

However, his happiness didn't last long. His heart clenched and his stomach churned. He had a very unsettling feeling at the pit of his guts. It obviously wasn't any good. But what was there to be uncomfortable about? He decided to look left and right, even at Lag and at Emi. Nothing was strange. Everything was actually the usual. He glanced down at Vasiolka, who seemed to be relaxed and rather happy. He decided to not think too much. It was probably just him. Vasiolka would know if there was something off.

But it couldn't be shaken off. The churning continued and his chest was so unbelievingly tight he almost couldn't breathe. It was bothering him to no end. What was it? What was troubling him? He can't point out what it was, exactly. But something deep deep deep inside him was telling him something was wrong. Something wrong was happening. He had this unexplainable urge to run. But to where?

Voices were whispering in his mind but he couldn't comprehend what they were saying. They were shouting crying pleading laughing. What was happening to him? His heart was wrapped up so tightly it wasn't pumping blood anymore and his stomach had deflated and—

"Is something the matter?" Emi had unknowingly saved him from whatever was happening to him. "You look troubled."

He glanced at her before returning his gaze to his feet. He furrowed his eyebrows, examining his feelings and sorting them out. His head started to throb lightly. "I… I feel kind of bothered…" he looked at her, the thoughts about the previous night deleted. "I feel like something bad's happened… or is happening. I don't know… it's disturbing."

Emi said nothing, so he glanced at her for a moment to see her deep in thought. Apparently, she was considering what he had just said. He wondered what she was thinking again. From observing her, he now knew how her thoughts could either make or break her. There was nothing in-between. So he watched her closely, cautioning himself on her next move. For all he knows, she might collapse right then and there. (Like what had happened when they were practicing for the play. He shuddered mentally.) But when he realized he was looking at her for too long, he instantly averted her gaze and instead looked straight forward, seeing that they were already nearing the Hive's entrance.

So they all went inside in silence, aside from Lag who was holding the door open for all of them as he happily chats away with Niche. The ether around the Hive was also in the norm, with people lining up for their letters to be delivered, and Bees setting out for another journey of delivering letters. It was warm, and it was evidently because of the mass of people inside the area. But still, the disconcerting feeling has made its habitat in Zazie's stomach, causing him to involuntarily scan the room for something wide of the mark and outlandish. He found nothing.

Only then had he realized that they were already climbing up the stairs to proceed to the Director's office. Usually, he would know what he was doing. He wasn't a daydreamer. He was starting to think that maybe he was overthinking things. Maybe it was something he ate.

They went in the office, and they all removed their caps in unison, out of respect for their seniors. They walked and walked and walked until they were a good meter away from Largo's desk, which was messy with papers and files and other things Aria had stacked. Normal.

Lag was the first one to speak. Which was normal, as well. "The letters have been delivered safely, Director and Sub-Master."

"Very polite as usual, I see, Lag Seeing," Largo said. Which was also a normal thing for him to say to Lag, who blinks and smiles at him, which was also a usual reaction he gets from Lag. "Did anything strange happen during your delivery? Cloaked men and whatnot? No abductions? Hostage? Fights? Or were you able to find some clues or hints about these said men?" he inquired, clasping his hands together in a business-like manner.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lag shook his head to every question thrown at him. "Nothing strange, sir. No dangers, and no clues." He answered, voice very sure of what he was saying. "But has everything been okay while we were gone, Director, and Sub-Master?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Thank you, Lag Seeing," Aria answered professionally, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, which was also very Aria-like. "But I'd like to remind all of you again to stay cautious. We will never know what's going to happen next. Be prepared. And if that's all, you're dismi—"

The doors were barged open and Zazie wasn't quick to respond, so the first thing he had heard was ragged breathing. Very ragged breathing. As if the person had ran from Yodaka all the way to the Hive. The feeling of anxiety once again started to chow down on his stomach. He turned his head so slowly to where the man stood. Everyone was looking at him as he caught his breath. He looked familiar. He looked back at Aria, and saw her eyes flash in recognition. She knew him.

"Lag, Zazie, Emi, please take this as your cues to leave. All of you are dismissed." Her voice was shaking.

Without any more questions, they all turned and brisk walked out of the room. Zazie was the last to go. He examined the man's face as he exited the room. He was rather old—his gray hair gave it away—and stubbly. He looked so familiar but the annoying part was, Zazie couldn't point his finger as to where he had seen him. Nonetheless, they were all outside, with Lag still in front of the door, as he was the one who closed it for the man. Zazie knew he was discreetly trying to listen—and inwardly having a debate on eavesdropping because it was bad—but he knew Lag knew that they couldn't hear anything from outside that office.

"Niche has seen old man before," Niche suddenly proclaimed, as if she had read Zazie's mind. So he snapped his head at her, looking at her, hoping she would continue.

Lag faced them. "He lives near us…" he quietly said. And in that moment, Zazie could tell how Lag's mood went down. And he was starting to get some pieces to his puzzle. "I don't know, but I feel uncomfortable. I think we should go and check on Sylvette…"

For some reason, Zazie's eyes traveled to Emi's, and she was already looking at him. She understood. She knew the reason behind his unnerving feeling a while ago. So he nodded at her, and she returned the gesture. He looked at Lag, who eyed him curiously and confusingly. "Let's go. We can't waste any time…!" With that said, he ran and they all followed suit. They ran down the stairs, causing enough noise to make the people notice them and make way for them.

They went out the Hive, and Zazie looked at Niche. "Niche, you go first and check on Sylvette. If the bad guy's still there, finish him off, but don't kill him!" he commanded, but earned a scoff from the dingo. He glared at her.

"Niche only takes orders from Lag, because she's Lag's dingo!"

"Dammit, we don't have time for that!" He countered. But he looked at Lag. "Lag, tell Niche what I told her to do! We have to hurry!"

"Niche, do what Zazie told you! Hurry!" Lag shouted breathily, cupping his hands over the sides of his mouth. Niche nodded at the instruction and sped off, jumping over roofs and stretching her hair out to assist her falls. She would arrive there in no time. "Oh, I hope Sylvette's okay…" Lag panted, but no one replied in fear of Lag's statement.

The adrenaline coursed rapidly through Zazie's veins, making him run faster and faster until his legs felt like jelly but he has to keep going. His breaths were coming out uneven and sweat was dripping all over his body like mini waterfalls. He glanced at Vasiolka, who was slightly ahead of him. "Vasiolka, I want you to help Niche out. You know what to do. Go," he instructed in between breaths, as he took out his shindanjuu in preparation, watching Vasiolka run faster than before.

He turned to Emi, who was running with a calm expression yet he knew she was hiding all of it. "Emi," he gained her eyes, "you have the keenest of sight among all of us, and your shindanjuu is very useful for long ranges, which also won't hit other people other than your target," he panted, as Emi nodded at him. "So if you see the bad guy, shoot him in parts enough for him to slow down. Got it?"

"Understood,"

"I'll help you get clues off the areas," Emi nodded, and Zazie turned his head to Lag. "Lag, just check on Sylvette and make sure she's okay…!"

They were nearing Sylvette's place, and his heart had beat even faster, which was surprisingly possible. He readied himself, and felt everything go in slow-motion. He could hear his heart beat and his rapid breathing in his ears, and he could feel his sweat drip down his chin. With every step he takes, the uneasiness increases. He was preparing himself. So when Sylvette's house was in view, he nodded at Lag. "Go, Lag," then he looked at Emi. "We'll stay out."

So they did. There was no bad guy, which was both good and bad. But there was one thing in summary: they were too late. Lag ran inside the house, and from where he stood, Zazie's inner voice kept on screaming, _I knew it I knew it I knew it_! Anger slowly boiled in his blood as he saw how wrecked the interior of the house was. Shattered vases and frames, chairs which have been turned over. It seemed as if the house had been turned upside down. And Zazie can't help but be angry at himself. He was to blame. He knew something bad was happening. He just knew it. He should've followed his instincts and ran to where his feet would lead him.

Pain started to spread from his knuckles to his hand to his arm, so he looked at his fist and surprisingly found it against the wall. Apparently, he had punched the wall beside him (but it hadn't made any impact whatsoever) out of sheer anger and self-regret. But the strange thing was, he didn't know he had done it until he felt the pain. He removed his throbbing and numb and aching hand, and stared at it. _We were too late. I was too late. Dammit. Dammit all, _he thought over and over again as he eyed his fist indifferently.

"You shouldn't do that," Emi said as she gently took his hand in hers, examining any injuries he had caused. She glanced up at him before returning her gaze to his gloved hand, touching some places which actually stung pretty bad, which caused him to wince and glare at her. He attempted to withdraw his hand, but she forbid him to do so, as she kept a firm grip on his wrist. "You're gonna have a swollen knuckle there. Don't do that again. I'll get you an ice pack once we're settled down." After she had said that, her grip on him loosened, giving him the opportunity to withdraw his hand and nod at her.

"_Emi! Zazie! Please come here! Please come now!_" Lag's voice resonated from inside the house. He was shaken. He was panicking. He was frightened. He was all but happy. So Zazie and Emi exchanged glances before dashing inside the house, avoiding the shattered vases and such, eyes roaming to look for Lag. When they both heard his whimpers, the duo exchanged glances once again before proceeding to where Lag's whimpers came from.

The first thing Zazie saw in the dining room was complete chaos: the chairs were upside down, as if they were thrown all over the place, with some shattered glasses here and there, and wooden kitchenware scattered in some areas. Something bad and quite traumatic had definitely happened. And the anger continued on rising within Zazie. Until his eyes drifted to two small figures at the very corner of the room—Lag, Niche and Sylvette. Zazie clenched his fists and gritted his teeth before making his way towards the trio, making sure to keep a safe distance from Sylvette.

She looked much worse than the mess behind him. Her knees were clipped tightly to her chest and she was hugging her legs for dear life. The sad part was: she was holding onto herself as if her body was the only solid and safe thing in her house. She was shaking. Badly. She was obviously terrified, shocked, traumatized. She was crying terribly. Tears were cascading down her cheeks nonstop, and her azure eyes were as wide as saucers. Snivels were escaping her lips as Lag held her tight, salty liquid coming down his chin. His whispers of comfort were audible enough for all of them to hear, but Zazie wondered if she was even there with them at that moment.

He bent down on one knee, planting his elbow on the knee. He frowned at the scene and turned to Lag. "Lag, was she like this when you saw her?"

Lag faced him, eyes already puffy from all the crying. He nodded, pulling the shaking Sylvette closer to him. "…But—I—she was—was breathing more heavily—when—when I came…" he sobbed, sniffing here and there to prevent some snot from coming out.

"Sylvette didn't recognize Lag and Niche when we first came," pointed out a saddened Niche, whose eyes never left Sylvette.

Zazie simply nodded at them before standing up, turning to Emi, who was simply eyeing Sylvette indifferently. But Zazie knew better than that. She was bottling up all her feelings. She was also somewhere else, much like Sylvette. But still, they both had jobs to do. "Emi," he called her, earning a snap of the head to his direction from her. "Let's check out the place and look for clues they've left behind." He instructed, receiving a nod from Emi. He then faced Lag. "Lag, just keep on taking care of her. We'll come back later. Just calm her down for now, and make sure she'll be okay." Lag nodded at this. "And let the dingos stay upstairs. I don't think they wreaked havoc there too."

So he looked at Emi, and when their eyes met, he nodded at her, with her reciprocating the gesture. They set out, starting in the hallway by the door. They separated to look in different areas, with Zazie by the door, crouching down and flipping over some shattered glass with his (normally-functioning) gloved hand. He brushed some small shards of glass with his boots as his eyes rapidly scanned the area for any suspicious things they've left. Although, he already _did _have some suspects in mind, judging by who lived in the house.

He frowned. Was this some sort of warning? Or a diversion? Were they threatening them? What was their problem, anyway? What do they want? Nothing just fits in the puzzle. Everything's still so vague, and to say that it's frustrating is an understatement. It's—

"I've found something," Emi announced, voice still flat even after the revelation.

Zazie simply looked at her and urged her to come to him. So she did, avoiding all the shards and whatnot on the way. He saw that she had some sort of paper in her hand. Curiosity flickered in his eyes, as she presented him her finds. "It's some sort of paper. It's really torn and wrinkled. I don't know where the other pieces are," she informed, making Zazie nod as he took the paper from her, examining it thoroughly, the torn-off words immediately being recognized by his eyes.

"… It's a crossing permit…" he mumbled, hopefully audible enough for Emi to hear. _So these people are from Yodaka? Why would they go to Yuusari for something like this? No… more like, why would they leave this permit? Why are they here? _He furrowed his eyebrows, _moreover, shouldn't this be in perfect condition at all times? Why is it torn? Nobody should be this careless about a crossing permit… unless… it can't be. I shouldn't jump into these conclusions. I need more answers. _He huffed through his nose, tightening his hold on the paper for a moment—

"… Letter Bee Zazie and Emi…?"

They both snapped their heads to the door, finding a very shocked and haggard Aria Link, the man from a while ago just behind her, his face just as shocked as hers. "… What are you two doing here? Is Sylvette okay? How is she?" she inquired, as she slowly made her way inside, eyes roaming around the place in terror. "Oh no… It never crossed my mind that they would go to these lengths of sabotage..." she mumbled, before gazing down at Zazie. "Where's Sylvette?" she asked, voice panicky.

Zazie simply blinked at her and gestured her to follow him. So they went to the corner where Sylvette and Lag was, and it was as if they hadn't moved an inch since he and Emi had left. Aria then rushed toward Sylvette, crouching down a good meter away in front of her, searching for her eyes. Lag raised his head, now quite groggy. He probably ended up sleeping on Sylvette's shoulder from all the crying. Dried tears remained like streaks on his face as he slowly blinked at Aria, slowly familiarizing himself with the new company.

"… M-m-miss A-Aria…"

"Lag, please forgive me, but I want you to let go of Sylvette for a moment, please," Aria calmly and slowly said, reaching out and brushing some stray bangs away from Lag's eye. "She needs to have some space for a moment. To—to breathe. She needs to recover at least a little bit. Please, Lag?"

With that said, Lag nodded sluggishly, unblinking, as he untangled his arms from Sylvette's shoulders, moving away from her in a snail's pace, watching her with his sorrowful eyes, quite scared that maybe she might turn into dust when he lets go. Zazie frowned. Aria then inched a little closer to Sylvette, fighting the urge to touch her face as it might shock her.

She cleared her throat. "Sylvette…? Sylvette, it's me, Aria. Can—can you hear me?" she shakily asked, tucking stray strands of blonde hair behind her ear.

And for the first time since Zazie saw her, she slowly moved her head up to look at Aria, tears still spilling down her cheeks. An endless waterfall. Her eyes were still wide, and her mouth was quite agape. It was apparent that she had just been brought back to reality, as her eyes slowly darted to each and every one of them, stopping at Emi's for a period of time before shifting back to Aria's green orbs. Then

she

fainted.

Everyone gasped in shock as her body started to slowly fall sideward, being hastily caught by a jumpy Lag, who immediately checked her breathing. When he let out a great big sigh of relief, everyone followed after, with Aria planting her hand on her chest, composing herself. So then she stood up, eyeing the unconscious Sylvette in Lag's arms. She looked at Zazie. "Zazie, please help Lag carry Sylvette to her room. Make sure to elevate her legs and loosen her clothing so she can breathe well." She instructed, pushing her glasses up her nose bridge.

"Zazie's right hand is injured, Miss Aria," Emi interjected, causing Zazie to look at her. "It still needs to be treated."

Aria's eyes shifted from Emi's to Zazie's then to Emi's. She then nodded slowly, comprehending what Emi had just said. She faced the old stubbly man. "Will you please…?" she sheepishly asked, earning an eager nod from the man, who immediately crouched in front of Lag, conversing with him in a small voice.

Zazie blinked at the small tug on his sleeve, and staggered some as he was already being dragged by Emi towards the sink. He turned his head to look at her skeptically, wondering why she was volunteering to help him take care of his injury when he can do it himself. When they were both in front of the sink, Emi gestured him to wash his hands, to which he obeyed. After removing his gloves and putting it on one corner, he turned the faucet, the cold water splashing down on his two hands. It soothed the bruise and ache some.

"… Why are you doing this?"

Emi tilted her head to the side, blinking questioningly at him. "Doing what?"

"Helping me,"

She cocked her head slightly upwards, her eyes following, before looking back into his orbs. "I'm just repaying you," she said indifferently, with a light shrug, before grabbing an improvised ice pack—a medium sized towel with ice in it—and presenting it to him. He turned the faucet off and wiped his hands gently on a nearby towel, grabbing the ice pack and putting it over his bruised knuckle. The coldness of the ice instantly numbed the bruises and cooled off the heat his hand produced. "Just keep that on until it doesn't swell anymore." Emi said one last time before she started to pick up the scattered bowls and kitchenware, placing them back to their rightful places after wiping the tables and countertops clean.

Zazie opted to help her, but she looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Just go and check on Sylvette. Let me take care of this,"

So he did. He walked out of the room and into Sylvette's, where Lag and the man sat by the edge of the bed, eyeing her sorrowfully. He joined their shared silence, loitering by the corner of the room, the shadows engulfing his being. Feeling the ache of his feet, he decided to slide his back down the wall and sit with his one knee outstretched. He sighed lowly, gazing down at his bruised hand, removing and putting the ice pack back to relieve the coldness. He did these over and over, until his eyes slowly began to flutter and his head bend downwards.


End file.
